British trading platform CMC Markets on Wednesday forecast a 45% rise in first-half net operating income, buoyed by tight cost control measures and sustained trading activity, sending its shares 5% higher.

CMC, which provides trading in more than 12,000 financial instruments, including shares, indexes, foreign currencies and commodities, said it has commenced onboarding British fintech Revolut's clients and has seen a steady rise in active traders.

"Given that Revolut has over 40 million clients worldwide, even attracting a small proportion of them would potentially be meaningful for CMC," analysts at Jefferies said in a note.

Shares in the London-headquartered company rose 5.6% to 322 pence at 0707 GMT, placing it among the lead gainers on the FTSE midcap index

Trading platforms such as CMC in 2023 had enjoyed a year-end revenue spike due to heightened volatility from the Middle East conflict.

"While full year outlook has not changed, the company is at the top end for revenues and there may be space for an upwards move in guidance at the first-half results," Jefferies analysts said.

CMC said it expected to post a net operating income of 180 million pounds ($235.49 million) in the six months ended Sept. 30, compared with 123 million pounds a year ago.

The company also said it expects to swing to a pretax profit of about 51 million pounds, compared with a 2 million pound loss a year earlier.

(Reporting by DhanushVignesh Babu and Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)