PSE posts P367M net earnings in 1H

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) reported a net income of P366.84 million and total revenues of P651.54 million during the first half of 2015.  



Revenues were supported by the growth in total turnover value for the period amounting to P1.20 trillion during the first half of 2015 from P993.01 billion in the same period last year.  As a result, trading-related revenues were up by 13.4 percent from 2014"s P144.92 million to P164.28 million during the first half of 2015.  



Similarly, service fees generated by the Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the PSE, increased by 20.4 percent to P213.42 million from P177.32 million during the same period last year.



Listing-related revenues, however, declined by 56 percent year-on-year as listing fees went down to P134.12 million. In 2014, total listing fees amounted to P463.13 million, which included listing revenues from capital raising activities as well as listing of shares covered by share-for-share swap transactions of listed companies. While capital raising activities were up by 36.4 percent in 2015 from the same period the previous year, the volume of other listing activities fell short of the previous year’s number. During the January to June period this year, one company conducted an initial public offering, i.e., Crown Asia Chemicals Corporation, while 18 other transactions were done at the Exchange covering follow-on and stock rights offerings and private placements.



“Despite the volatilities in the market especially during the second quarter, the market managed to sustain healthy levels of liquidity.  We did not see, however, the same transaction sizes as we did last year and this has adversely affected the company’s profit levels,” PSE President and CEO Hans B. Sicat said.



Meanwhile, other income grew by 5.4 percent to P110.51 million from P104.87 million primarily.



Total expenses rose by 8.2 percent to P296.09 million during January-June 2015 from P273.55 million in the same period in 2014.



Overall, PSE’s net income for the first half of the year went down by 35.7 percent from the previous year while revenues also went down by 28.4 percent.



“We are hopeful of the pipeline for capital raising during the second half but more importantly, we need to remain steadfast in ensuring we complete other projects we have lined up for the year to support sustained growth for the company.  For one, we continue to work for the completion of the integration of the equities and fixed-income exchanges that will pave the way for a more viable landscape for the Philippine capital markets,” Mr. Sicat added.