CMC Markets Stock

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our financial year 2026 results presentation. My name is Peter Cruddas, and joining me today is Laurence Booth, Director and Global Head of Capital Markets; David Fineberg, Head of Strategic Partnerships; Matt Lewis, Head of ANZ.

I will start by giving an overview of where CMC is as a business today and why I believe we are entering a very exciting new phase of growth. Laurence will then cover the financial headlines and our strategic progress across the group. David will provide the detail behind the numbers. Matt will provide an update on our Australian stockbroking business. And then finally, I will then come back at the end to wrap up.

Before we move on, I want to show you a short video introducing our new brand identity. Over the last few years, CMC has evolved significantly. We've built new partnerships, expanded our product offering, entered new markets and transformed the shape of the business. We felt it was important that our brand evolved alongside us. This video gives you a flavor of where CMC is today and more importantly, where we're heading next. Let's take a look.

[Presentation]

I think that video captures an important point. The business has evolved significantly over recent years. And in many respects, our new brand is simply catching up with the company we have become. CMC today is a very different business from the one many people still associate us with. We are no longer just a traditional retail CFD provider. CMC is now a platform business built for multi-asset trading and institutional partnerships. Revenue is driven by B2B and wholesale. We have diverse multi-asset financial platforms. We are trusted by major banks and brokers, and we have reliable proprietary technology infrastructure that has been built over many years. This gives us multiple earnings streams across trading, investing, treasury, institutional clients and partnerships. Importantly, the scale and profitability of our institutional and B2B business now gives us the ability to reinvest back into retail, brand and client acquisition. That is a major strategic advantage for CMC today as the strength and consistency of our B2B business gives us the capability to increase investment in our retail platforms and global brand. Laurence will speak more about it shortly, but this is the combination I want people to understand.

CMC today has institutional scale and diversified earnings with further opportunity in the retail space. This is a fundamentally different business model to many of our peers and one we have built over many years. A few years ago, we told the market that CMC was moving towards a more institutional partnership-led model. That is exactly where we have delivered. Revenue is driven by B2B and wholesale. Our neobank API partnership continues to scale in line with our strategic expectations and gives us access to more countries without significant investment. And we now have access to very large embedded client bases through these platforms. This is the power of our model. We are not acquiring clients one by one. We are integrating with large financial platforms and giving them the technology, products and risk infrastructure they need. That gives us reach, scale and operating leverage, and it is a business model that is unchallenged and very difficult to replicate.

This slide is very important because it explains how we think about partnerships. These are not simple supplier relationships. They are long-term strategic relationships where both sides benefit. CMC brings technology infrastructure, execution, risk management and product expertise. Our partners bring trusted client relationships, distribution, local knowledge and financial strength to support our growth together. Together, we build integrated financial ecosystems. That is why these relationships deepen over time. As we add more products, our partners can offer more to their clients. As their clients become more engaged, activity increases. As activity increases, both CMC and our partners benefit. It is a symbiotic model. It is shared growth, and every new capability we add strengthens and consolidates the relationship further.

CMC has been building this platform for over 37 years. That matters. We have built something that you cannot replicate overnight. We have built proprietary technology across pricing, execution, risk management and connectivity. We have operated through multiple market cycles. We have been tested in extreme volatility. And most importantly, we have continued to deliver for clients and partners when markets are at their most challenging. That is why major financial institutions trust us. They need real-time pricing, liquidity and execution. They need confidence that the platform will perform under pressure. But most importantly, they need a partner they can trust. That is what CMC provides, and it is what we have done for 37 years. Quite simply, very few firms can do what CMC can do.

Before I hand over to Laurence, I would like to recap on some of what I have covered this morning. Our strategic position is very clear. We are no longer a traditional CFD provider. We have built this business through technology infrastructure and partnerships. And today, leading financial institutions are choosing CMC because of the platform, capability and resilience we have built over many years. The operational reality now supports that strategy. Revenue is driven by B2B and wholesale. Our neobank API partnership continues to demonstrate exceptional and explosive growth, and we have 37 years of proprietary platform built behind us. And our product diversity and operational reliability have helped us secure Tier 1 partnerships with major institutions, including ANZ Bank and most recently, Westpac, Revolut and ASB Bank. This is no longer theory. This is now happening at scale. CMC has become an infrastructure layer sitting behind some very significant financial platforms globally. But importantly, the success of our B2B business is also now giving us the ability to refocus on retail, brand and direct client acquisition once again. It is a very powerful position to be in. We now have the benefit of institutional scale and diversified earnings, while also investing back into the retail opportunity globally.

I will now hand over to Laurence, who will take you through some of our financial and strategic progress in more detail.

Thank you, Peter, and good morning, everyone. I'll begin with the financial highlights for 2026 before moving into the strategic progress we have made across the group.

This has been a strong year for CMC. We delivered 15% growth in net operating income to GBP 392.6 million, 20% growth in profit before tax to GBP 101.3 million and an expansion in profit before tax margin to 25.8%. That performance reflects the strength and breadth of the business we have built across trading, investing, treasury management and institutional partnerships. Institutional and B2B income continue to scale, whilst our Australian stockbroking business delivered another record year, supported by continued client engagement and growth in assets under administration. We continued investing in technology, platform capability and strategic partnerships, while maintaining strong operational discipline across the group.

FY 2026 demonstrates the benefit of the infrastructure, product depth and operational capability CMC has built over many years. It gives us a strong foundation as we move into 2027. As shown on the slide, following a very strong start to the year, we are guiding to a net operating income of approximately GBP 460 million to GBP 480 million. At the midpoint, that represents around 20% growth, reflecting continued momentum across the institutional and B2B business, contribution from major strategic initiatives already underway and further diversification across the group.

CMC is today a multi-asset financial services platform built for sophisticated partners with broad and complex requirements. The institutional capability we have built sits at the heart of the group. It gives partners access to scale and continual innovation alongside infrastructure and multiproduct capability. During 2026, we continued to scale that model. The opportunity now is to ensure we win both mind share and market share in the direct-to-consumer market.

Slide 10 highlights some of the major initiatives and operational milestones delivered during the year. In Australia, the Westpac integration remains on track for launch during 2027. Alongside ASB in New Zealand, these are major long-term institutional partnerships, which significantly expand the scale of our investing platform and client reach. We commenced rollout of the group's multi-asset platform, including the U.K. launch of our multi-asset offering. This enables clients to trade cash equities, CFDs and OTC options from a single platform and account experience.

We launched Spectre for professional clients in November '25, followed by a retail rollout in May 2026. These launches are important milestones for CMC. They form part of the technological foundation for what will ultimately become our global Super App. We expanded our market offering significantly, including 24/5 U.S. equities, 24/7 crypto and 24/7 bullion trading. These are important developments in their own right, but they also point to a much broader infrastructure ambition. Our intention is to move the platform towards a 24/7 atomic infrastructure that is Web3 compatible, where products, settlement, custody, execution and client access can operate in a more continuous programmable and globally scalable environment that is central to how we think about the next evolution of CMC's platform, always on markets, broader asset coverage, deeper partner integration and infrastructure capable of supporting both traditional and digital financial services.

CMC CapEx gives clients access to exciting investment opportunities, including secondary share placings, private equity and gray market IPO access. This broadens the addressable market for retail and institutional clients while increasing engagement across the platform. We continue to see strong acceleration through our neobank API partnerships. As Peter referenced, these partnerships have delivered exceptional growth in new account openings and trading activity and continue to go from strength to strength. We continue progressing our digital and Web3 infrastructure capability through a regulated institutional-grade framework fully integrated into the broader multi-asset platform strategy. So 2026 was not only a year of financial delivery, it was a year which positions CMC for the next phase of growth.

Slide 11 shows the scale and breadth of the partnership ecosystem we are building. CMC now supports major banks, fintech platforms, neobanks and retail brands around the globe. These partnerships provide access to very large embedded client bases through our infrastructure and API capability. This is highly scalable distribution rather than relying solely on traditional client acquisition methods. We are increasingly embedded within larger financial ecosystems. Demand for broader platform capability continues to increase. Clients and partners want investing capability, API infrastructure, platform services and multiproduct functionality. That plays directly to CMC's strengths. Our track record of execution continues to support repeat partnership wins and long-term relationships. Partners choose CMC because we deliver reliably, we scale effectively and we continue investing in the platform. That trust was tested under extreme market conditions this year, and the business performed exceptionally well.

This slide brings home the importance of operational resilience and execution. The period was defined by extreme market conditions, including an unprecedented move in precious metals, significant volatility across global markets and blowout volumes across the platform. Against that backdrop, client and partner activity increased materially. What mattered most was whether CMC could meet that demand without disruption, and our infrastructure did not miss a beat. But this was not just a technology story. Across technology, risk and operations, our people worked in real time to support clients and partners, maintain service quality and keep systems running smoothly under pressure. That operational capability is critical as our institutional relationships continue to scale. It reinforces the trust partners place in CMC and demonstrates that our platform can perform consistently even in extreme conditions.

Three years ago, we introduced our institutional-first strategy. Today, CMC is the gold standard for major partnerships. Over time, we have built significant trust capital with our partners, and that trust represents a high barrier to entry for competitors. Institutional scale now supports reinvestment into the CMC brand, the retail experience and the broader direct-to-consumer ecosystem. That investment has created a much larger, more scalable and more diversified business. The global addressable CFD wallet continues to grow and today stands at in excess of USD 10 billion. Our priority is to dominate the D2C opportunity. We are investing in a new global brand identity, the retail client experience, enhanced onboarding and client journeys, expanded product capability and broader multi-asset functionality. The capabilities originally built for institutional clients can now be deployed across retail. That gives us a significant competitive advantage. This is not a shift away from institutional, this is an easy win and will be a core pillar of growth.

Finally, I want to touch on the performance of our regional offices across Asia and the Middle East. This slide shows the scale and impact of what we are delivering in these markets. In 2026, the region accounted for 54% of the group CFD revenue with strong growth across Asia and the Middle East. Asia delivered over 100% year-on-year revenue growth, and the Middle East delivered 76% year-on-year revenue growth. We launched cash prime brokerage across the region, providing institutions and neobank partners with enhanced brokerage capability. This extends both reach and sophistication locally. Asia has consolidated its investment market entities ahead of the multi-asset platform launch, scaling product and operational capability in the region. These businesses are now devolved. Decisions on development, marketing, people and products are made locally; improving client experience and speed of delivery. Taken together, local execution, institutional grade capability and platform scale are driving strong regional growth and provide a solid foundation for the next stage of expansion across Asia and the Middle East.

With that, I will hand over to Dave to cover the financials in more detail.

Thank you, Laurence, and good morning, everyone. I'm going to take you through the financial update for the year, covering the income statement, key movements and any operating costs and the outlook for FY 2027.

As Peter and Laurence have both set out, FY 2026 was a year of strong delivery across the group. The financial performance reflects that, but it also reflects the change in shape of the business with a broader earning base, increasing institutional and B2B contribution and a continued investment in the platform and future growth.

Let's start with the income statement. Net operating income for the year was GBP 392.6 million, up 15% from GBP 340 million last year. This result represents the group's best performance on record outside of the FY 2021 COVID impact year. This was driven by a strong performance across both trading and investing as institutional and B2B income continued to scale and our Australian stockbroking business delivered a record performance, which Matt will talk you through later. Total operating expense rose 15%. This primarily reflects higher variable rem following the achievement of performance hurdles, alongside continued investment in strategic growth initiatives, technology infrastructure and major partnership integrations. The result also includes the previously disclosed GBP 5.2 million remediation provision in Australia relating to the industry-wide margin netting matter. The operational discipline of the business, together with the solid top line performance resulted in profit before tax of GBP 101.3 million and a growing PBT margin of 25.8%, demonstrating our resilience even after absorbing these one-off items. Following this result, the Board has declared a full year dividend of 13.8p per share, consistent with our policy of returning 50% profit after tax to shareholders. Overall, these results reflect solid execution, strong regional performance and continued momentum across all areas of the business.

Turning to look at our costs in more detail. As mentioned on the previous slide, total operating expense for the year is up 15% year-on-year. Net staff costs increased 9% to GBP 124.3 million, whilst fixed rem growth remained relatively controlled. Sales and marketing costs increased to GBP 40.8 million, primarily reflecting the Australian remediation provision. Outside of that item, marketing spend increased more modestly as we continue to focus on targeted and data-driven acquisition campaigns. We also incurred higher advisory costs linked to ongoing strategic initiatives, driving legal and professional fees higher in the year. Importantly, while we continue to invest for growth, we remain highly focused on operational discipline and efficiency. A number of cost initiatives are already underway and are expected to deliver meaningful operational leverage over time as key programs mature. That said, many of these initiatives require upfront investment before the benefits are fully realized. And that investment is reflected in our FY 2027 cost guidance, which I'll come on to now.

Momentum across the group continues to build, and that momentum is being supported by a deliberate investment to drive future scale, diversification and operating leverage. Building on 2026 performance, FY '27 represents a deliberate investment phase, and the group expects operating expenses, excluding variable rem, to be approximately GBP 280 million for the year ahead. This increase in cost is driven by a defined set of investment priorities aligned to the group's long-term growth strategy focused on product expansion, institutional partnerships, operating infrastructure and brand awareness. Our product offering is being advanced through the development of securitized derivatives offering, providing access to a broader global client base and supplemented by the progress we are making on our multi-asset platform and Super App rollout. Institutional partnerships remain a core driver of growth, and diversification and the Westpac partnership represents a significant opportunity to expand the Australian customer base, increase trade volumes and scale the stockbroking business.

Similarly, the ASB partnership extends the group's footprint in New Zealand, reinforcing its position as a leading provider of white-label trading infrastructure. Investment in these initiatives have resulted in increased staff costs alongside higher operational expenses, including IT, market data and premises costs to support the expanding team. However, as we have seen with the ANZ partnership, the upside is significant. As Laurence touched on earlier, we are stepping up our investment in our brand and marketing, increasing our reach as we grow out our retail offering. This investment includes a strategic Premier League sponsorship intended to enhance global brand visibility and customer acquisition through front-of-shirt positioning and multichannel exposure. Revenue associated with this investment has not been included in the NOI guidance provided today, reflecting a conservative approach.

Whilst these partnerships have been signed, we cannot share details just yet, but we look forward to announcing these sponsorships to you all shortly. At the same time, we remain very focused on cost discipline and operational efficiency. FY 2027 includes more than GBP 10 million of identified savings and efficiency initiatives across vendor rationalization, outsourcing efficiencies, workplace optimization and improved technology utilization. For clarity, these efficiency savings are already incorporated within the group's FY '27 operating expense guidance of approximately GBP 280 million, excluding variable rem. So while FY '27 represents a meaningful investment year, it is important to recognize that these investments are being made from a position of strength. We're investing behind scalable infrastructure, proven partnership models and long-term growth opportunities, while continuing to drive lower overhead intensity and improved operating leverage over time.

I'll now briefly touch on the group's broader outlook for the year ahead before handing over to Matt for an update on the Invest business. CMC enters FY '27 with a strong momentum, supported by increasingly diversified earnings base and a growing contribution from institutional and B2B partnerships. We expect a number of key growth drivers to contribute meaningfully over the next 12 months. That includes the continued progression towards the launch of the Westpac and ASB partnership, further expansion of our institutional and B2B relationships, ongoing rollout of the multi-asset platform and continued progression towards the Super App. At the same time, the group is also making a deliberate pushback into retail and D2C growth.

As Laurence mentioned earlier, the scale, resilience and diversification we have now built across the institutional side of the business gives us the confidence to increase investment into brand, client acquisition and a broader retail experience globally. As a result, we now expect net operating income for FY '27 to be in the range of GBP 460 million to GBP 480 million. As I covered on the previous slide, we continue to invest strategically across technology infrastructure, product capability, partnership expansion and retail growth initiatives with FY '27 operating expense to be approximately GBP 280 million, excluding variable rem. Overall, we believe the group remains well positioned with diversified growth drivers across both institutional and retail channels, a scalable platform and a disciplined strategic investment supporting the sustained long-term progression of the business.

With that, I'll now hand you over to Matt to provide an update on Invest.

Thanks, David, and good morning, everyone. The broking business has delivered a record year on all fronts with strong year-on-year growth across all of our key performance metrics. Net operating income increased 32% to AUD 140 million, driven by strong market momentum and high client engagement. This was reflected in strong volumes and record customer growth with active traders up 19% to 279,000 and new accounts up 36%, increasing by 103,000. Importantly, this momentum continued to strengthen in the second half of the year. Assets under administration also grew strongly, increasing 15% to AUD 89 billion, a new high for the business.

Continuous platform development remained a key focus in FY '26, including the rollout of a new intuitive desktop platform, while also releasing a new flexible banking solution designed to attract greater cash balances while also supporting both acquisition and retention. We've also launched new AI tools to power stock analysis for clients and streamline back-end processes and customer support. These capabilities enhance both the client experience today while strengthening the platform for future scale, including the next phase of growth through new product offerings and strategic partnerships.

Looking ahead, we see clear opportunities to expand our product range and capture a greater share of wallet. In FY '27, we will deliver a broader crypto offering with more coins available to trade, expand into wealth, introduce the CapEx offering for our domestic market while also mirroring our European launch of listed warrants where we see an opportunity to disrupt the Australian warrants market.

Turning now to the 2 major white label partnerships with Westpac and ASB Bank, both previously announced to the market. These strategic partnerships represent a transformational step change for CMC, significantly expanding our addressable customer base and deepening our reach across the Australian and New Zealand retail investment markets. As major banking institutions, both partners bring established customer bases and trusted banking relationships. Combined with the strength of the CMC Invest platform, these banking channels are expected to drive a meaningful uplift in both trading activity, revenue and customer acquisition. Westpac is Australia's second largest bank with approximately 500,000 share trading customers and around AUD 39 billion of assets under administration. Once live, the partnership is expected to materially lift CMC's domestic turnover by circa 45%. Likewise, ASB is New Zealand's second largest bank with approximately 150,000 share trading customers and amongst the country's largest retail broker. CMC has more than 2 decades of CFD trading heritage in New Zealand, and this partnership builds on that foundation by expanding our footprint through a highly established banking partner into cash equities. Both partnerships are now deep in the integration phase and on track to launch in 2027. We're also enhancing the client experience with streamlined onboarding and a seamless connection between banking and investing. The planned rollout will be phased, beginning with new customers before a broader migration, giving us a clear and controlled path to launch.

In summary, these technology white label partnerships represent a major step change for the business. They extend the reach of our platform, deepen our strategic banking relationships and provide a strong foundation for future growth.

I'll now hand you over to Peter.

So to wrap up, 2026 has been another year of strong delivery and strategic progress for CMC. Financial performance was strong with net operating income up 15% and profit before tax up 20%. But more importantly, the business continues to evolve exactly as we intended. At IPO, we said we would build a business led by institutional and B2B partnerships. We said we would diversify the earnings base, and we said we would scale through technology, infrastructure and partnerships. We sit here today after 10 years as a public company, having done exactly those things. Revenue is driven by B2B and wholesale. Our neobank API partnership continues to scale strongly and our major partnerships with Revolut, Westpac and ASB continue to progress well.

At the same time, we continue to roll out the multi-asset platform, progress the Super App and expand our digital asset capabilities. Importantly, the success of the B2B business is also now allowing us to reinvest back into retail, brand and client acquisition globally. We now have institutional scale and diversified earnings alongside what will be a growing global retail platform. And I believe that makes CMC fundamentally different from many businesses in our sector. So the message today is very simple. The platform is built, the partnerships are in place. The technology is ready. Now we scale. Thank you.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our half year 2026 results presentation. My name is Peter Cruddas, and joining me today is Global Head of Capital Markets, Laurence Booth; and our Interim Head of Finance, John Cubbin.

In terms of the agenda today, I will provide an overview of a number of the exciting initiatives we have going on here at CMC. John will then cover the financials. Laurence will provide a strategic update across each of our businesses before handing back to me to wrap up. So should we get going?

API Connectivity delivers distribution and scale through technology, which is what sets CMC apart. I wanted to share this quote at the top of the presentation because it is what really captures the essence of where CMC is as a business today. Over the past few years, I have transformed this business from a retail CFD provider into a diversified fintech company, one that delivers growth and distribution through our API technology, our connectivity and our partnerships.

Everything we do now in retail or institutional is built on this technology-led approach. It's what gives us scale and reach well beyond our traditional footprint. You'll hear a lot about our API technology today, and that's deliberate. It's the foundation of everything we are building.

Our API business is one of the most powerful, exciting growth areas within the group. It's a simple but powerful proposition, one connection that gives our partners access to global markets, thousands of products and infrastructure that scales instantly and the results speak for themselves.

Over the past year, API partnership account openings have increased by more than 2,400%, and it's only going one way. What makes this growth particularly impressive is the cost efficiency. We are acquiring a significant number of clients, but we are doing it without any marketing or onboarding costs. The benefit to CMC is substantial, but the cost is minimal.

We've added hundreds of thousands of new accounts over the past 12 months, and the amazing thing is around 70% of those accounts are from markets where we have no physical presence. This shows the true power of our technology, extending our reach globally and creating distribution at scale through partnerships.

Our API connectivity is now a major engine of growth for CMC, delivering recurring revenue, global distribution and significant operating leverage. So one of the biggest validations of our technology and capability has been the caliber of the partners we continue to attract.

CMC attracts the biggest names in the business and behind every great name sits a vast network of clients, and through our API infrastructure, we're powering their access to markets. On the left, you'll see some of our long-standing institutional partners, including Revolut, ANZ, ASB and St. George, relationships that have scaled over time and continue to grow strongly.

And on the right, you can see some of the new partnerships announced this year, including Westpac, Currys and another major bank with details to be revealed soon. These are blue-chip brands that have chosen CMC because of our market-leading technology, our ability to scale seamlessly and to deliver quickly and our proven track record of delivering for institutional clients. CMC is the partner of choice, and each partner brings us distribution, scale and brand reach. This helps us grow account numbers, turnover and assets often with minimal incremental cost with our API account numbers now growing faster than our D2C platforms. This is exactly what sets CMC apart.

We combine institutional-grade technology with the agility and scalability of a fintech. This is where the future of CMC comes together. The Super app is the next big step in our evolution, a single powerful platform that unites trade in, investing and payments, one app, one account, one ecosystem. We're building something that nobody else in this space has, a bridge between traditional finance and decentralized finance, DeFi, all powered by our own technology.

Phase 1 is expected to be live imminently, a multi-asset platform delivering everything from equities to options. Phase 2 brings in DeFi, tokens, stablecoin, CapEx investments, putting us right at the heart of the shift towards decentralized markets. And Phase 3 will extend into payments and banking, creating a truly connected financial universe. This is game-changing for CMC. It's scalable, it's global, and it positions us at the frontier of fintech.

I'd like now to speak a little bit about some of the changes I have been implementing within the business. One of the biggest strategic shifts we've made is how we run CMC. We've moved away from a centralized structure to one that empowers our regional offices to take ownership and drive growth.

Our dealing teams in London, Toronto and Sydney manage risk centrally, aggregating flows underpinned by our treasury management division. Commercial decision-making is now more local and agile. Regional heads can tailor products, pricing and marketing strategies to suit local conditions while still operating within our group framework. It's a model that links success directly to profitability and growth, giving offices accountability but also autonomy.

This devolved structure means we can move faster, respond to competition more effectively and capture opportunities as they arise, all while maintaining full oversight. In short, we have built a franchise-like model that's unlocking a new level of performance across the group, and it is having great benefits. I will be back at the end to wrap up, but that is all from me for now. And I'm going to hand over to John, who will cover the financials.

Thank you, Peter, and good morning, everyone. My name is John Cubbin, and I'm the Interim Head of Finance. I would like to begin by looking at some of the key group financial metrics. Net operating income for the half year was a solid GBP 186.2 million, up 5% year-on-year, driven by growth across both trading and investing net revenues and a record performance from our Australian stockbroking business.

Total operating expenses rose to GBP 136.5 million, primarily reflecting a further $5.2 million remediation provision in Australia relating to an industry-wide margin netting matter. The operational discipline of the business, together with the solid top line performance resulted in a profit before tax of GBP 49.3 million and a healthy PBT margin of 26.5%, demonstrating our resilience even after absorbing one-off items.

The Board has declared an interim dividend of 5.5p per share, consistent with our policy to return 50% of after-tax profit to shareholders. Overall, these results reflect solid execution, strong real performance and continued momentum across our business verticals as we move into the second half.

Turning to look at the income statement in more detail. As mentioned on the previous slide, net operating income was up 5% year-on-year to GBP 186.2 million, driven by increases across both trading and investing revenues. Net trading revenue rose 5% to GBP 138.1 million, supported by strong client activity with good momentum across both our retail and institutional channels.

Net investing revenue grew strongly, up 32% to GBP 26.3 million, reflecting another record half for Australia, where stock broking income reached AUD 65.9 million, a 34% increase year-on-year. This strong growth in Australia was underpinned by double-digit increases in assets under administration and turnover volumes alongside continued momentum across our broader investing platform.

Interest, treasury and other income declined 17% year-on-year, largely due to higher client interest payments linked to the rapid growth of our Cash ISA product. However, on a gross basis, underlying interest earnings were higher year-on-year, supported by increased returns from money market fund investments and active treasury management as well as record client cash balances.

Turning to costs. Operating expenses, excluding variable REM, were GBP 128.8 million, up 16% and reflect the additional GBP 5.2 million provision for margin netting. As a reminder, this relates to an industry-wide matter rather than a CMC-specific issue, and we now consider the remediation element of this matter closed.

Excluding this one-off charge, underlying costs remain well controlled and in line with internal expectations. As a result, profit before tax was GBP 49.3 million with a profit before tax margin of 26.5%, demonstrating solid profitability despite the one-off charge.

Profit after tax was GBP 35.7 million with an effective tax rate of around 27.5%, broadly in line with expectations and reflecting the higher proportion of profits generated in Australia. Overall, it's been a solid first half with the group well positioned for the remainder of the year with good momentum across all divisions heading into our traditionally stronger second half.

Now looking at our cost base in more detail. Total operating expenses for the half were GBP 136.5 million, which is up 10% year-on-year. The main driver of that increase is the additional GBP 5.2 million provision previously mentioned for margin netting in Australia. And as we've said, this is an industry matter, not CMC specific. If you strip that out, underlying costs were broadly in line with our internal expectation.

Staff costs remain well controlled and net staff costs were down 3% to GBP 57 million. Within that, fixed REM was slightly higher, which reflects continued investment in key areas of the business, but this was offset by a reduction in variable remuneration that is linked to a more prudent approach where we now only accrue incentives once performance hurdles have been met.

Sales-related costs were up significantly, but that is driven by the Australian remediation provision. Marketing spend, excluding the impact of this provision, was broadly flat and continues to be more targeted and data-driven.

Outside of staff costs, IT remains our largest cost component and was up 3% year-on-year to GBP 13.1 million. That reflects our ongoing enhancement of our front and back-office systems to support scalability across all 3 verticals. Finally, I'd call out that a number of major efficiency and infrastructure projects are now well advanced. We're incurring some temporary dual running and transition costs as we move certain functions into lower cost hubs, but we expect those to unwind over time. The benefit of that work is improved operating leverage, lower overheads and better margins as we move through the next 12 to 18 months.

I'd finally like to turn to the outlook. Momentum across the group has continued to build into the second half. In B2B, we're seeing a growing pipeline of institutional partnerships, many of which now moving towards launch. Retail cash balances remain at record highs, reflecting the strength and stability of our customer franchise and our emerging third vertical positions us well for future expansion beyond our current markets.

As a result, we now expect net operating income to exceed current market expectations for the full year by approximately 10%. On costs, our efficiency initiatives continue to progress well with several major projects now nearing completion. We do expect FY '26 operating expenses to be marginally ahead of consensus, primarily due to the Australian remediation charge and the temporary dual running costs as we complete our transition programs. However, these investments are positioning the group for greater efficiency and stronger operating leverage in the years ahead.

Overall, we have a clear income trajectory, a disciplined investment program and strong visibility on future growth, leaving CMC well placed to deliver sustainable returns and long-term shareholder value. I'd now like to hand over to Lawrence, who's going to cover some of our strategic developments in more detail.

Thank you, John, and good morning. Peter has set the vision and the strategy. My job and my team's job is to execute it, scale it and keep pushing it forward. Today, I want to explain what we are building at CMC. This is not only about results, it is about the future we are creating. We are moving from being a strong business to becoming the company the market looks to for direction.

Our strategy is simple and powerful: one platform, one ecosystem, a global multi-asset offering that is always on. 24/7 access to trading, tokenization ready, atomic settlement, wallet-first architecture, payments and API distribution at global scale. This is where traditional finance and Web3 converge, not side by side, but as one unified system.

As Peter said earlier, our API platform is gaining real momentum. What I want to reinforce is this, the market now watches us to see what we will build next, and we intend to stay ahead. The future of markets is always on, instant tokenized and wallet-led. We are building the foundations for that shift. A key part of this is StrikeX. StrikeX began as optionality, a way to stay close to new technology, but optionality became strategy and strategy became ownership.

This brings blockchain talent and tooling inside CMC. And we now own the tokenization engine, the multi-asset wallet, the 24/7 settlement rails, the expertise to build markets of tomorrow. This is now a core part of our platform. We proved this with a live blockchain trial, moving shares between investors instantly, safely and within the U.K. regulation.

Alongside this, our EUR 300 million commercial paper program and our investment-grade credit rating give us the liquidity and balance sheet to support tokenized settlement and stablecoin movement. We are early, we are careful, we are disciplined, and we are ahead of the market.

Payments form a strategic new layer, which aligns with the Super App vision. As trading moves 24/7 and settlement becomes atomic, payments become critical infrastructure. This gives the user full control of value flow inside our ecosystem. It adds duration, it removes friction, it improves user experience, and it positions CMC as a fully integrated financial platform.

We also recognize human-led service is a premium strength. Technology gives scale, but people give trust. Even in an automated world, clients want real expertise. So we are investing in experienced professionals across markets, products and regions, strengthening our service and raising our standard.

We have brought key talent into core roles to deliver the next phase of our strategy, and we will continue hiring best-in-class people as we grow. CMC will lead with technology, but also with people as both matter. Spectre is a CMC original and an example of how we innovate for our clients. It offers unlimited trading size, any asset class, 0 tax and no administration, access to 24/5 traditional markets, access to 24/7 cryptos. It is professional, it is global, it is powerful and a mass market version will follow.

Our B2B franchise leads the industry. We partner across the full spectrum of modern finance, neobanks, major retail banks, global banks and regional financial institutions choose CMC. Our relationships span digital-first innovators like Revolut, long-established banking groups such as Westpac and ASB and household retail names like Currys. They choose CMC because we deliver, we scale and our API platform removes friction at every stage. This is a powerful and profitable growth engine, which continues to accelerate.

The Westpac partnership is transformational, 500,000 clients, AUD 39 billion in assets, around a 45% increase in domestic turnover for CMC. This is one of the largest migrations in the region. Delivering this scale is evidence of our operational excellence. When banks and institutions need reliability, scale, regulated infrastructure, proven delivery, they choose CMC. Our track record speaks to that. 15 years of consistent delivery, 15 years of trust and the flywheel is now spinning faster.

The Australian D2C business continues to be a standout performer. Net operating income is up 34% at AUD 66 million, 46,000 new accounts, assets under administration up 14% at $91 billion. Strong results across crypto, FX and domestic brokerage. It is a broad, resilient and consistently high-performing business.

Our D2C U.K. Invest business is gaining momentum with cash ISA traction, junior ISAs coming, expanded investment choice, increasing cross-sell into GIAs, SIPs and ISAs and major U.K. partnerships. Momentum is building and the platform is ready to scale.

And in closing, we have delivered, we are delivering, and we are building a company that will define the next decade of global markets, across traditional finance, Web3, tokenization, innovation, expert human service and a single global atomic platform that is 24/7. CMC is not following the future. CMC is defining it. Thank you. And Peter, back to you.

Thank you, Laurence. So to wrap up, CMC today is fundamentally a different business from where we were even a few years ago. Our 3 vertical model is now fully established and delivering results. And importantly, it's given us multiple engines for growth.

In the D2C space, our Australian stockbroking business delivered a record half year. This has been supported by retail cash balances at record highs. We also head into the second half with a tailwind given recent strong performance and the fact that the second half is typically our seasonally stronger period.

In Platform Technology as a Service, we have had a transformational start. The Westpac deal is a milestone partnership and the explosive growth of our neobank API shows the scalability of what we've built. The pipeline going into the second half is strong and continues to grow.

And finally, in DeFi and Web3, we have already completed our first tokenization share trade, launched our commercial paper program and are now finalizing the launch of Phase 1 of our super app, a key step in creating a seamless multi-asset ecosystem for our clients.

All of this progress is underpinned by seamless API connectivity, disciplined investment and global expansion, and it is powered by a leadership team with the experience to execute. You have heard today just some of the exciting initiatives we have underway, but there's still plenty more to come, and I look forward to sharing more with you in the months ahead. Thank you very much.