Bursa Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd
has wrapped a strong earnings year due to the ongoing global and local developments spurring market activity, as well as the increased demand for services.
The stock exchange operator registered a net profit of RM68.9mil in 4QFY24, up from RM59.55mil in the year-ago quarter, on higher revenue of RM185.91mil compared to RM156.68mil in the comparative quarter.
This brought the year's net profit to RM310.12mil, a 22.9% increase from RM252.38mil in FY23. Revenue for the year rose to RM784.3mil from RM616.49mil in the year before.
Basic earnings per share increased to 38.3 sen in FY24 from 31.2 sen in the previous year.
In line with the performance, the board of directors declared a final dividend of 18 sen per share for the year as well as a special dividend of eight sen per share.
Including the previous interim dividend, the annual payout comes to 36 sen per share for a 93.9% payout ratio.
According to Bursa Malaysia, the securities market registered trading revenue of RM381.5mil in FY24, which compares to RM266.6mil in FY23, due to higher average daily trading value for on-market trades and direct business trade.
Trading velocity climbed by 10 percentage points to 39% in FY24 compared to 29% in FY23.
The three additional trading days in FY24 also contributed to the increase in trading revenue.
Meanwhile, the derivatives market saw a 27% year-on-year increase in trading revenue to RM113.8mil due to the higher volume of Crude Palm Oil Futures (FCPO) and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Futures (FKLI) contracts traded in FY24.
On the Islamic Market, operating revenue rose 4.9% to RM17.9mil in FY24, with added contribution from the new Bursa Gold Dinar business. However, the trading revenue of Bursa Suq Al-Sila during the year under review dipped to RM16.9mil from RM17.1mil.
As for the data business, revenue increased 15.1% to RM78.3mil in FY24, mainly due to a growing subscriber base.
Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said the stock exchange laid the foundation for long-term growth, including the successful launch of the world’s first waqf-featured exchange-traded fund, reflecting its commitment to offering innovative investment options that also benefit society.
"Building on this progress, we aim to further develop our Islamic Market with new Shariah-compliant products and services, while expanding the investor base for platforms such as the Bursa Gold Dinar.
"These efforts will create greater alignment between Shariah investing and sustainable and responsible investment," he said.
