New NAGA CEO Michael Milonas outlines technique to shareholders

Newly put in NAGA Group AG (ETR:N4G) CEO Michael Milonas has issued a letter to shareholders, detailing his imaginative and prescient and plan going ahead for the social-trading targeted Retail FX and CFDs dealer.

The letter additionally hints at among the issues which have been plaguing NAGA, which led to the ouster final month of firm founder and longtime CEO Ben Bilski. NAGA noticed a major decline in Revenues throughout the second half of 2022, resulting in a loss for the yr. The corporate has but to file its closing 2022 outcomes, which adopted a breakup throughout the second half of 2022 with NAGA auditor E&Y, amid a restatement of monetary outcomes.

NAGA shares (at €1.42) are down greater than 80% since peaking close to €9 in late 2021.

The complete textual content of the letter despatched to NAGA shareholders in the present day reads as follows:

Letter from our Group CEO

– NAGA, The Future

Pricey Shareholders,

On this first direct communication to you, I wish to mirror and take inventory of the previous in addition to provide you with our imaginative and prescient for the long run. NAGA has crossed many milestones within the final 3 years: by year-end 2022, we had welcomed greater than 90,000 clients on our platforms, delivered in 2021 (2022 figures to comply with shortly) income progress to EUR 53 million, up from EUR 7.6 million in 2019 yielding a 690% progress, and prolonged our market share regardless of aggressive competitors in addition to a tightening regulatory framework.

We’re not as daring as saying that every part that occurred up to now 3 years has been good however at the very least our choices have been ours and we’ve owned them. We really feel that we perceive the customers of the long run and all that drives them. There are extra individuals and there’s extra wealth on this planet proper now than ever earlier than they usually all need the identical factor: a group, social, cellular, tech, entry to monetary alternative, funds at their fingertips, share with one another and study from one another. NAGA brings this future right here, in the present day. By way of our distinctive expertise, person expertise, strong regulation and repute, we purpose to speed up our progress and by doing so, hope to create a strong and long- lasting model, each in established and huge but additionally in rising markets.

We have now a window of alternative as bigger gamers mobilize assets to pursue the expertise route, however they haven’t been the place we’ve they usually can not fathom the depth of our maturity each from a advertising and marketing and tech perspective in addition to from a regulatory and compliance one. Our purpose is to maneuver rapidly to solidify and lengthen our present place while we pursue critical acquisition alternatives and welcome them to our household, to our distinctive ecosystem and expertise. NAGA is constructed for that and is a part of our imaginative and prescient as we grow to be a worldwide powerhouse. This technique just isn’t with out threat nonetheless: it requires critical funding and crisp execution in opposition to established leaders.

Defend the quick time period, deal with the long run

We imagine {that a} elementary measure of our success would be the shareholder worth we create over the long run. This worth will likely be a direct results of our capacity to increase and solidify our present market place. The stronger our market share, the extra highly effective our financial mannequin. A robust Market place can translate on to larger income, larger profitability and subsequently stronger returns on invested capital.

Our journey has entered maturity stage. Lengthy Time period technique and maturity requires us to weigh choices in a different way than different corporations. Accordingly, we need to share with you our elementary administration and decision-making method so that you simply, our shareholders, could verify that it’s constant together with your funding philosophy:

• We’ll proceed to deal with the healthiness of our regulatory compliance standing, even when it means sacrificing quick time period revenues.
• Our funding choices will likely be primarily based on a long-term market management imaginative and prescient quite than a short-term profitability one.
• We’ll proceed to work exhausting to attain a lean tradition this yr and we are going to stay targeted on it. We perceive the significance of constantly reinforcing a cost-conscious tradition, notably as a result of our enterprise incurred web losses within the final years.
• We’ll proceed to measure our advertising and marketing method to totally different markets and the effectiveness of our investments in that respect, to chop these that don’t present acceptable returns and to step up our funding in people who work finest. We’ll proceed to study from each our successes and our failures.
• We’ll make daring choices the place we see a adequate likelihood of gaining market share. A few of these investments will repay, others won’t, and we can have realized one other useful lesson in every case.
• We’ll proceed to deal with hiring and retaining passionate and gifted staff and deal with switching a part of their compensation to inventory choices quite than money, one thing presently not in place. We imagine our success will likely be largely affected by our capacity to draw and retain a motivated worker base, every of whom should suppose like and due to this fact have to be, an proprietor.

Our Workers, our Soul

The previous yr’s success is the product of a gifted, sensible, hard-working group, and I take nice pleasure in being part of this crew. Setting the bar excessive in our method to hiring has been and can proceed to be, the one most necessary component of NAGA’s success.

It’s not straightforward to work at NAGA, however we’re working to construct one thing necessary, one thing that issues to the world and its individuals, one thing that we are able to all inform tales about. Such issues aren’t meant to be straightforward and are very often, the topic of criticism. We’re extremely lucky to have this group of devoted staff whose sacrifices and keenness construct NAGA.

These proud people are the embodiment of the six phrases that make up our tradition:

• Ardour, Excellence, Sustainability, Management, Dedication, Humility.

That is who we’re, that is what we stand for.

Our journey in 2023 and past

We’ll proceed to deal with strategic investments to fulfill the increasing market alternative. Although we’re optimistic, we should stay vigilant and preserve a way of urgency. Competitors is fierce, succesful, and well-funded. The purpose stays and is evident: Proceed to solidify and lengthen our model and buyer base.

This will likely be achieved through the next 5 set strategic pillars:

1. Centered growth in Rising Markets, from Africa to the Center East, to Southeast Asia after which throughout the Globe to Latin America.
2. Keep and reinforce our European enterprise from a product and regulatory perspective as we’ve a robust model in Europe and a very good repute.
3. Focused Acquisitions to speed up our international footprint and entry localized information and knowledgeable expertise in addition to greater revenues, sooner.
4. Enlargement of our Licensing map in order that we’re allowed to supply our distinctive suite of merchandise to as many shoppers attainable within the minimal period of time.
5. Proceed to draw one of the best expertise from all around the world so as to add to our Senior Government Crew and to our Board to allow them to advise and information us in our journey into the long run.

We be ok with what we created and about what we’ve completed so far however much more enthusiastic about what we’re about to do. We have now had 3 unimaginable years stuffed with achievements, learnings and sometimes ache. We’re grateful to our clients for his or her enterprise and belief, to one another for our exhausting work, and to our shareholders for his or her help and encouragement.

As one could witness on the wallpaper in my very own workplace, The Future is NAGA!

Michael Milonas
Chief Government Officer