PSE's profit jumps by 57.81% in Q1

THE Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) said Wednesday that its net income in the first quarter rose by 57.81 percent to P144.08 million from P91.30 million in the same period last year largely due to the revenues from higher trading volumes.

Operating revenues grew 8.83 percent to P222.96 million as all components of income increased. Trading related fees expanded 31.39 percent to P62.28 million as trading volume surpassed the level last year. Average daily turnover value of P7.84 billion was recorded in March compared with P5.08 billion in average value turnover in the same period last year.

Service fees generated by the Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the PSE, increased by 54.48 percent.

Listing related income, on the other hand, was reduced mainly because of lower volume of listings in the first quarter this year compared with the same period last year.

Other income of P45.45 million was higher by 235.85 percent primarily due to mark-to-market gains on financial assets. These revenues came from the investment in equity funds managed by two external fund managers.

"The PSEi continues to be one of the top performing markets in Asia and we have seen a healthy increase in trading activity arising from this. The extension of trading hours into the afternoon at the start of the year has helped our market to accommodate this renewed interest from investors," PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Hans Sicat said.

"We hope that revenues from listings will catch up as more companies have started to go to the stock market to raise capital," he added.

Total expenses for the first three months were slightly higher by 1.21 percent to P94.36 million as compared with the same period last year of P93.23 million. (SDR/Sunnex)