As European fintech companies struggle to cope with a downturn in the economy and a marked decline in capital, some are bucking the trend。One of these companies is XTB, a listed broker from Poland, which announced on August 21 that the total number of employees in the listed company has exceeded 1,000.。

More than 1,000 employees in 12 offices worldwide

XTB now employs more than 1,000 people in 12 offices around the world.。Employment increased by 17% in the first six months of 2023 as a result of ongoing efforts to launch new investment products and develop proprietary trading platforms。

For more than a decade, XTB has been working on its proprietary xStation trading software and mobile apps, leading to a major shift in hiring toward software developers and IT specialists, who now make up 40 percent of the entire team.。The proportion is higher at the company's Warsaw headquarters, at 56%。At the same time, one in 10 XTB employees handles customer service and support tasks, with 4% working in marketing or planning.。

"When I started working at XTB in 2007 as a junior sales reseller, the company only employed 45 people," commented Omar Arnaout, CEO of XTB.。"From today's perspective, what we've achieved since then has been impressive - from introducing new products to our offerings, to growing financial performance and rapidly acquiring new customers around the world."。"

As part of developing new products, XTB is moving away from contracts for difference (CFD) to attract a new customer base。In April, the company admitted that leveraged trading could not provide as broad a customer base as stocks or savings products, so it will launch new savings-related products later this year.。

XTB customer number and share price hit double record

XTB's continued growth is reflected not only in the number of new employees, but also in the valuation of the company's shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.。In early May, the price of a single XTB stock hit a record 43.88 zloty。Although it has since dropped 14.5%, but still up 22% so far this year。Since 2020, the value of XTB shares has increased from 4.10 zloty an eight-fold increase。

According to XTB's latest financial report released at the end of July, the company achieved a record number of new customers in the first half of 2023.。The broker gained 167,000 new clients in the first six months of the year, an increase of 65.5%。Still, revenue and net profit fell, which the company attributed to lower market volatility in the second quarter.。

In addition, while the number of active XTB customers increased by 44 per year.4% to 274,450, but the profitability per lot of CFDs (i.e., profit per trade) declined by 17% per year..4% to 226 zloty。

"This decline was mainly due to lower volatility in financial and commodity markets in the second quarter of 2023, partly due to the increasing number of new customers (up 65.5%), as well as the signing of CFD contracts in bulk, and high trading activity expressed in the number of customers.。"The company concluded.。