Listing revenue pulls PSE net income in first half

MANILA, Philippines — The decline in listing fees has dragged down the net income of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) for the first half of the year.

Net profit for the first 6 months went down by 35.7% to P366.84 million ($7.94 million); revenues rose 28.4% to P651.54 million ($14.11 million) on the back of weaker listing-related revenue.

“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 Sicat said in a statement.

Listing-related revenues slid by 56% year-on-year as listing fees went down to P134.12 million ($2.90 million).

Meanwhile, total revenue was supported by the growth in total turnover value for the period amounting to P1.2 trillion ($25.99 billion) in the first half of 2015 from P993.01 billion ($21.50 billion) in the same period last year.   

As a result, trading-related revenues were up by 13.4% year-on-year to P164.28 million ($3.56 million) in 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% to P213.42 million ($4.62 million) from P177.32 million ($3.84 million) in the same period last year.

While capital raising activities were up by 36.4% in 2015 in the first half, the volume of other listing activities fell short of the previous year’s number. 

During the January to June period this year, one company, Crown Asia Chemicals Corporation, conducted an initial public offering, while 18 other transactions were done at the Exchange covering follow-on and stock rights offerings and private placements.

“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,” Sicat said.

“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,” he added. – Rappler.com

$1=P46.17