PSE posts 28% rise in 9-month profit

The Philippine Stock Exchange grew its nine-month net profit by 28.1 percent year-on-year to P718.96 million on higher earnings unlocked from companies raising fresh capital from its bourse.

Operating revenue in January to September amounted to P1.19 billion, higher by 18.7 percent from the level in the same period last year. Listing-related income, which accounted for 42.9 percent of operating revenue, soared by 79.1 percent as listing fees from initial public offerings and additional listings grew.

“We are pleased with the company’s performance in the first nine months. We expect capital raising activity to remain brisk in the last few weeks of the year with the number of IPOs and follow on offerings lined up,” PSE president Hans Sicat said.

Trading-related income, which made up 18.5 percent of operating revenue, dipped by 8.3 percent due to lower transaction fees. Value turnover slipped to P1.54 trillion as of end-September from P1.99 trillion a year ago.

The PSE, however, remains among the top performers in the region. On Sept. 25, the PSEi index hit an all-time intraday high of 7,413.62. Year to date, the PSEi is up by 22.5 percent.

Data feed income and subscriptions fees rose by 13.4 percent and 42.4 percent, respectively, curbing the impact of the decline in trading-related income.

Total expenses were up by 14.9 percent year-on-year to P413.19 million on higher operational expenses.

“The year is drawing to a close but we remain focused on what needs to be accomplished based on our targets this year,” Sicat added.

The groundwork for the new trading system powered by NASDAQ OMX’s X-stream trading technology is on schedule to meet the May 2015 schedule to go live.