PSE grew net profit by 35.1% to P845M in 2013

Screengrab from pse.com.ph

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Stock Exchange grew its net profit in 2013 by 35.1 percent to P844.8 million as a robust equities market boosted listing and trading-related income.

“The significant growth in our revenues and income highlights the resilience of the company amidst the volatilities experienced by the market arising from uncertainties in the US economy. The country’s sound economic fundamentals and the heightened interest of investors to participate in the growth of our market have provided the impetus for increased trading activity,” PSE president Hans Sicat said on Thursday.

The PSE’s revenues jumped by 33.8 percent to P1.53 billion as all income components showed notable growth. Listing-related income expanded by 28.5 percent to P160.07 million as 10 companies sold shares through the exchange.

Eight companies conducted their initial public offering in 2013, namely, Philippine Business Bank and Asia United Bank, AG Finance, Inc., Harbor Star Shipping Services, Inc., Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc., Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., Discovery World Corp. and Concepcion Industrial Corporation, while two companies, Del Monte Pacific Ltd. and First Metro Exchange Traded Fund listed by way of introduction.

Del Monte Pacific is also listed on the Singapore stock exchange.

“Despite the lack of capital raising activities during the third quarter, we still managed to come close to our target.  A lot of the companies understandably went into a wait and see mode.  But in the last quarter, we all saw them coming back with their capital raising plans which only shows that the stock market remains to be a sound and compelling venue to generate funds,” Sicat explained.

Meanwhile, trading-related income surged by 59.4 percent to P118.09 million on the back of robust trading volumes. Service fees from Securities Clearing Corp. of the Philippines (SCCP), PSE’s wholly owned subsidiary, increased by 43.7 percent to P454.68 million.

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