Futu Announces Third Quarter 2023 Unaudited Financial ResultsNovember 23, 2023HONG KONG, Nov. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Futu Holdings Limited (“Futu” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: FUTU), a leading tech-driven onlinebrokerage and wealth management platform, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023.Third Quarter 2023 Operational HighlightsTotal number of paying clients1 increased 14.2% year-over-year to 1,650,843 as of September 30, 2023.Total number of registered clients2 increased 11.4% year-over-year to 3,490,292 as of September 30, 2023.Total number of users3 increased 10.1% year-over-year to 21.1 million as of September 30, 2023.Total client assets increased 26.6% year-over-year to HK$468.1 billion as of September 30, 2023.Daily average client assets were HK$480.6 billion in the third quarter of 2023, an increase of 15.4% from the sameperiod in 2022.Total trading volume in the third quarter of 2023 increased by 0.5% year-over-year to HK$1.1 trillion, in which tradingvolume for U.S. stocks was HK$804.4 billion, trading volume for Hong Kong stocks was HK$272.5 billion, and tradingvolume for stocks under the Stock Connect was HK$9.5 billion.Daily average revenue trades (DARTs)4 in the third quarter of 2023 declined 7.2% year-over-year to 416,005.Margin financing and securities lending balance increased 9.4% year-over-year to HK$32.4 billion as of September 30,2023.Third quarter 2023 Financial HighlightsTotal revenues increased 36.2% year-over-year to HK$2,650.4 million (US$338.5 million).Total gross profit increased 28.1% year-over-year to HK$2,213.0 million (US$282.6 million).Net income increased 44.6% year-over-year to HK$1,091.2 million (US$139.3 million).Non-GAAP adjusted net income5 increased 43.7% year-over-year to HK$1,158.0 million (US$147.9 million).Mr. Leaf Hua Li, Futu’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “In the third quarter, we added approximately 65 thousand paying clients, bringingour total paying clients to over 1.65 million. We acquired more than 163 thousand paying clients in the first three quarters of this year, alreadyexceeding our full-year guidance for 2023.”“In Hong Kong, we acquired clients through targeted marketing campaigns around the government’s green bond and silver bond offerings. In late July,we opened our first offline store in Hong Kong to enhance brand recognition, assist with account opening, and showcase product features. The offlinestore has become an important avenue for us to attract and engage with older clients – those aged 55 and above contributed over half of paying clientswe acquired through the offline store in the third quarter. In Singapore, paying client growth remained resilient as money market funds continued togain traction amid the high rate environment. In the U.S., new paying client quality, measured by average net asset inflow, continued to edge up. InSeptember, we kicked off client acquisition in two international markets, namely Japan and Canada. We will continue to focus on refining our accountopening “golden process,” expanding trading products, and iterating on marketing messages during the early innings of market launch. Despitebearish sentiments across global equity markets, our paying client retention rate remained above 98% during the third quarter.”“Total client assets increased by 26.6% year-over-year to HK$468.1 billion. While mark-to-market losses weighed on the valuation of our clients’ stockholdings, total client assets remained stable quarter-over-quarter due to robust net asset inflow. In Singapore, total client assets recorded double-digitsequential growth for the fifth consecutive quarter, bolstered by strong asset inflow into cash management products.”“Both the Hong Kong and U.S. equity markets recorded strong performance in July. As a result, total trading volume increased by 13.6% sequentiallyto HK$1.1 trillion. Client’s elevated trading interests in leveraged and inverse ETFs led Hong Kong stock trading volume to grow by 5.4% quarter-over-quarter to HK$272.5 billion. Higher trading turnover of the Magnificent Seven stocks sent U.S. stock trading volume up by 19.0% quarter-over-quarter to HK$804.4 billion.”“We continued to enrich product offerings across markets. In Singapore, we launched fractional shares for U.S. stocks and ETFs, lowering theinvestment threshold for novice investors. We introduced multi-leg options rollover strategy in Hong Kong and the U.S. to enhance product capabilitiesfor active options traders.”“Total client assets in wealth management climbed to HK$52 billion, up 99.9% year-over-year and 19.3% quarter-over-quarter. As of quarter end,client’s bond holdings jumped by 86.8% sequentially, mainly attributable to strong demand for U.S. treasury bills. In Singapore, wealth managementasset balance grew six-fold year-over-year, as more clients turned to the stable returns