UP Fintech Holding Limited (the “Company”, a NASDAQ-listed company under the ticker “TIGR”, and all of its subsidiaries and consolidated entities), a leading online brokerage firm focusing on global investors, posted its first full-year profit and laid out plans for further international expansion over the coming years after gaining popularity in Singapore.
Fourth quarter revenue rose 136.5% to US$47.2 million, compared with revenue of US$20.0 million in same quarter of 2019. UP Fintech generated US$10.3 million in Non-GAAP net income in the fourth quarter, approximately 29 times higher than the US$0.3 million the company reported in the same quarter of last year. For the full year, the company reported revenues of US$138.5 million, US$77.6 million of which was commission revenue. Commission revenue was bolstered by an increase in the firm’s user base and trading activity. Non-GAAP Net income for the year came in at US$22.3 million, compared with a loss of US$1.8 million in 2019.
Total account balance increased by US$5 billion in the fourth quarter and reached US$16.0 billion, an increase of 215.9% since the end of 2019. The firm added 44,000 funded accounts in the fourth quarter, 3.9 times the number of new funded accounts in the same quarter of last year; the total number of funded accounts more than doubled in 2020.
“We again recorded significant increases in client accounts and assets, supported by strong demand for online financial services and increased trading activities in the equity market,” stated Mr. Wu Tianhua, CEO of UP Fintech. “With a diverse set of licenses, our internationalization strategy continues to progress nicely and is now a new driver for our growth. During the quarter we participated in eight IPOs, of which we underwrote three. For the full year we participated in 26 U.S. IPOs of Chinese-based companies and served as an underwriter in 14 of them. Our leadership position in underwriting for Chinese ADR issuers in the U.S. continued to yield significant benefits as it led to more IPO subscriptions being available to our retail clients. We also added 35 ESOP clients in the fourth quarter for a cumulative total of 124 clients. Despite having only started our ESOP business two years ago, we have been able to gain substantial market share due to the enhanced user experience of our system.”
The company’s flagship trading app, Tiger Trade, has formed a closed-loop platform for trading, social networking, and financial media. By adding more investment tools and products such as grey market for Hong Kong IPOs, the firm continues to boost its brand recognition and retail client stickiness.
“We are enthusiastic about the year ahead as we will continue to leverage our technological capabilities to build an integrated trading platform for global clients with a comprehensive product offering,” Wu added.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other statements, the business outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as the Company’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on Forms 20-F and 6-K, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company’s growth strategies; trends and competition in global financial markets; the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic; and governmental policies relating to the Company’s industry and general economic conditions in China and other countries. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.