Market maker Optiver reported a strong performance in its financial results of 2022. The global trading firm realised a net profit attributable to equity holders of € 1,286 million in 2022 compared to € 958 million in 2021. Net trading income in 2022 amounted to € 3.3 billion, 42% higher than in 2021 (2021: € 2.3 billion). Optiver exhibited a strong financial position at the end of 2022, with a total equity of € 3.6 billion compared to € 2.8 billion at the end-2021).

The firm maintained a conservative capital structure, to meet business and regulatory requirements, enabling it to provide liquidity to other market participants when it is really needed.

In 2022, market volatility was driven by movement in the tech industry and digital currencies as well as the geopolitical conflict in Ukraine. Macroeconomic uncertainty was exacerbated by a resulting energy crisis and rising inflation.

“Having successfully navigated the market turbulence of previous years, Optiver was well positioned to provide liquidity during this period. Through all conditions, we remained a stabilising force in the markets and our focus on best-in-class pricing, trade execution and risk management culminated in strong profits for 2022”
Jan Boomaars, Optiver CEO

Over the course of the year, Optiver continued to scale its business in various markets, products and asset classes. Outside of its core business of trading in derivatives, Optiver draws on its deep market structure experience to selectively invest capital as well as expertise into projects related to finance, technology, IT infrastructure and digital assets. In 2022, it continued to build out minority investments into an innovative securities lending platform, a cryptocurrency trading company, a hardware solution for monitoring and standardising latency in exchange connectivity and a US-based clearing firm, among others. It recently announced a minority investment into commodities trading firm, Traxys Group. The transaction is expected to close in May 2023 following receipt of regulatory and other approvals.