Bursa Malaysia Q3 earnings down 2.7%

PETALING JAYA: Bursa Malaysia Bhd's net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2018 (Q3) fell 2.7% to RM50.19 million from RM51.60 million a year ago due to an increase in operating expenses.
Its revenue also decreased marginally by 0.3% to RM129.82 million from RM130.27 million.
The stock exchange said in a filing that during the quarter under review, the securities market's profit grew 2.5% to RM77.8 million in Q3, but the derivatives market saw a 15.6% decline in profit to RM9.5 million
For the nine-month financial period, Bursa Malaysia's net profit rose 2.6% to RM172.19 million from RM167.77 million primarily due to higher revenue, which was up 1.3% to RM421.09 million compared to the previous year's RM415.63 million.
Its CEO Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan said despite major volatility and declines in emerging market equities against the backdrop of a challenging global environment in 2018, Bursa Malaysia’s sustainable growth initiatives implemented over the years continue to show progress, raising standards and performance to achieve its highest ever nine-month operating revenue, and highest recorded nine-month average daily trading value for securities market’s on-market trades of RM2.6 billion since listing in 2005.
“We are confident the government’s emphasis on fiscal and governance reforms as outlined in the 11th Malaysia Plan mid-term review bodes well in the long term for strengthening investor confidence. On Bursa Malaysia’s part, we will continue our efforts to digitalise services, liberalise the rules framework and broaden the investor base to enhance the breadth and depth of the ecosystem – all part of the exchange’s strategy towards becoming a leading, responsible and globally connected Asean marketplace,” he added.
At the midday break, Bursa Malaysia's share price fell 11 sen or 1.4% to RM7.54 on 56,800 shares done.