Bursa Malaysia earnings up on trading revenue

Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd posted a net profit of RM290.3mil in the nine months period ended Sept 30, 2021, a 6.38% increase compared with RM272.89mil in the same period a year ago on improved contribution from both trading and non-trading segments.

A filing with Bursa Malaysia revealed that the stock exchange operator’s revenue for the period was up 6% to RM602.36mil from RM568.27mil in the previous corresponding period. It said operating revenue rose 6.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM590mil.

Total operating expenses in the three quarters rose 6.4% to RM213.2mil, mainly due to higher staff costs and corporate social responsibility expenditure.

For the third quarter, Bursa Malaysia recorded a net profit of RM79.94mil, a 34% decrease from RM121.94mil in the same quarter a year ago while revenue fell 26.82% y-o-y to RM173.98mil.

“While key economic indicators are pointing towards an improving outlook for the Malaysian economy, the ongoing developments of the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to influence the volatility and performance of the equity market,” said Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift in a statement yesterday.

Trading revenue during the period was up 3.1% to RM359.9mil due to a higher effective clearing fee rate, which rose to 2.73 basis points from 2.57 basis points during the same corresponding period last year. The higher institutional settlement service fees earned also contributed to the growth.

Non-trading revenue from listing and issuer services had also recorded an increase to RM52.3mil as compared to RM40.1mil in the same period last year, underpinned by the higher fees earnings from the higher number of corporate exercises and structured warrants listed.