MANILA, Philippines?The Philippine Stock Exchange posted a first-quarter net profit of P91.3 million, up by 10.66 percent year on year, on higher listing, trading fees and other service fees during the period.

Revenues were up by 17.18 percent to P218.4 million from a year ago. Revenues were higher because almost all components of income increased, such as listing fees (up by 14.44 percent), trading fees (up by 26.87 percent) and service fees by subsidiary Securities Clearing Corp. of the Philippines (up by 40.22 percent).

Listing related income was boosted by higher fees collected from follow-on listings. Listing maintenance fees also expanded by a double-digit level due to the higher market capitalization of listed companies. Listing related income accounted for 44.08 percent of total revenues.

Operating expenses were up by 21.56 percent to P93.23 million but utilization of such expenses was likewise higher, thereby leading to the growth in net profit.

One measure that reduced unnecessary costs was the office integration, where all the administrative offices at Tektite were transferred to Ayala starting August last year. For the first quarter, this office integration reduced occupancy costs by 6.75 percent.

Another measure was the installation of the in-house payroll and human resource information systems last January. This allowed the PSE to eliminate costs from the previous outsourcing of payroll services which amounted to at least P300,000 a year.

Total resources of the PSE amounted to P2.47 billion at end-March, up by 9 percent from a year ago. Cash and cash equivalents stood at P1.01 billion.