Bursa Malaysia Berhad has posted a year-on-year 16.9% increase in its Profit After Tax and Minority Interest (PATAMI) to RM116.2 million for the first half ended 30 June 2017 (1H2017). The rise in PATAMI is due to higher operating revenue, which came in at RM269.4 million, an 8.5% increase from a year ago.
This is Bursa Malaysia’s best half year operating revenue since its listing in 2005. The Exchange also declared an interim and a special dividend of 20 sen per share and 15 sen per share respectively.
Key Financial & Market Highlights (1H2017 vs 1H2016)
- PATAMI at RM116.2 million, up 16.9%
- Annualised ROE at 26%
- Earnings per share at 21.7 sen
- Operating revenue at RM269.4 million, up 8.5%
- Operating expenses at RM124.9 million, up 1.0%
- Cost-to-income ratio at 44%, improved by 3 percentage points
- Average daily trading value for Securities Market’s On- Market Trades at RM2.5 billion, up 30.8%
- Market capitalisation as at 30 June 2017 at RM1.8 trillion, up 10.7%
- Velocity at 35%
- Average daily contracts traded for Derivatives Market at 59,818 contracts, up 0.1%
- Average daily trading value for BSAS at RM18.1 billion, up 6.5%
The annualised Return on Equity (ROE) increased by 1 percentage point to 26%. Cost-to-income ratio, meanwhile, improved by 3 percentage points to 44%.
Bursa Malaysia’s strong performance in the first half of 2017 came on the back of increased trading activities across all segments. We are seeing renewed interest especially from foreign funds who, I am pleased to note, are continuing to return to Malaysia’s capital market since the start of the year,” says Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan, Chief Executive Officer, Bursa Malaysia Berhad.
Stronger domestic trade contributed to a 30.8% increase in the Average Daily Trading Value (ADV) for the Securities Markets On-Market Trades (“OMT”) to RM2.5 billion. The first half of 2017 saw eight Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) that raised a total of RM3.5 billion compared to five listings which raised RM0.4 billion in the same period last year.
The Average Daily Contracts (ADC) for the Derivatives Market grew marginally by 0.1% to 59,818 contracts backed by 6% growth in FCPO contracts, spurred by increased hedging activities. This has, to a certain extent, helped offset the lower FKLI trades.
On the Islamic Capital Market front, Bursa Malaysia’s efforts to seek and grow foreign participation continue to reap rewards. Stronger trade by foreign participants resulted in a 6.5% growth in ADV on Bursa Suq Al-Sila’ (“BSAS”), the world’s first Shariah-compliant commodity Murabahah trading platform, to RM18.1 billion in 1H2017.
Bursa Malaysia achieved many milestones in 1H2017. These include the revision to the Tick Rule on Regulated Short Selling and Securities Borrowing and Lending to create a more facilitative trading environment. The Exchange also launched the Mid and Small Cap Research Scheme (MidS) to elevate the profile of mid and small cap PLCs. The first half of the year also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Bursa Malaysia and the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The agreement allows both exchanges to explore potential ways to improve visibility and accessibility to market participants in Malaysia and China, reaffirming Bursa Malaysia’s status as the gateway for investors in the region.
For the second quarter of 2017 (2Q2017), Bursa Malaysia’s PATAMI increased by 20.3% to RM59.5 million compared to the corresponding quarter ended 30 June 2016 (“2Q2016”), while operating revenue saw a 10.3% increase to RM134.8 million. The ADV for Securities Market’s OMT rose to RM2.6 billion, mainly due to higher domestic trades. Meanwhile, ADC traded for the Derivatives Market moderated by 6.7% to 57,482 contracts due to lower FKLI trades. In the Islamic Capital Market, the ADV of BSAS stood at RM18.8 billion, an increase of 22.1% in comparison with 2Q2016.
Datuk Seri Tajuddin added:
Going forward, we remain cautiously optimistic about the growth momentum for the rest of the year. Our aim continues to be creating a vibrant and sustainable capital market ecosystem to provide more opportunities for fund-raising and trading activities for all our stakeholders.