UPDATE 1-Plus500 unveils new share buyback as profit surges six-fold

(Adds details from statement, comments and background on market conditions)

Aug 11 (Reuters) - Online trading platform Plus500 Ltd posted on Tuesday a six-fold surge in first-half profit on the back of extreme volatility in financial markets triggered by the coronavirus crisis and also announced a $67.3 million share buyback plan.

Plus500, which recently made its interim Chief Executive Officer David Zruia permanent, expects the heightened market volatility to come back to normal levels even as customer income so far in the second half was more than double compared with last year.

The so-called Wall Street's fear gauge surged to its highest since the financial crisis in March, while oil prices collapsed below $0 in April for the first time in history as the health crisis stoked demand concerns.

That boosted trading volumes, helping Plus500 and its rivals IG and CMC Markets whose websites allow customers to make leveraged bets on financial markets from oil to currencies.

"The industry experienced unprecedented market volatility in H1 2020, primarily driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated news-related market movements," Plus500 said.

The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization leapt to $361.8 million for the six months ended June 30 from $65.6 million a year earlier, while customer trades reached 47 million from 17.5 million.

Plus500 added 198,176 customers during the first half, up from 47,540 last year. (Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)