KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd's net profit rose 33.6 per cent to RM75.03 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1Q 2024) from RM56.17 million in 1Q 2023.
Its revenue increased to RM187.20 million against RM156.50 million a year ago.
This was driven by a 23.0 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in the securities market's operating revenue to RM123.1 million in 1Q 2024 from RM100.0 million in 1Q 2023.
Bursa said its total operating expenses edged up 8.6 per cent y-o-y to RM87.1 million in 1Q 2024 from RM80.2 million previously, mainly due to higher staff costs and technology expenses.
Trading velocity also saw an uptick, rising to 39 per cent in 1Q 2024 from 31 per cent in 1Q 2023.
Market capitalisation stood at RM1.9 billion as at March 31 this year, with basic earnings per share rising by 2.4 sen to 9.3 sen, the exchange said.
Bursa chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift noted that the exchange had started the year on a firm footing, drawing upon the positive momentum of the past year.
He said the average daily trading value (ADV) for the securities market's on-market trades (OMT) continues to grow, rising by 36.9 per cent y-o-y to RM2.9 billion from RM2.1 billion in 1Q 2023, substantially contributing to a higher operating revenue this quarter.
"While key economic indicators are pointing towards a brighter outlook for the Malaysian economy, the ongoing global and local developments will continue to influence the volatility and performance of the securities and derivatives markets.
"We have been working closely with other regulators to ensure market efficiency and improved market accessibility and liquidity to support participants during this period," he said.
Listing and issuer services grew by 8.9 per cent y-o-y to RM16.3 million from RM15.0 million previously, while depository services witnessed an 18.3 per cent y-o-y increase to RM15.5 million from RM13.1 million last year.
The derivatives market's operating revenue rose 12.7 per cent y-o-y to RM31.8 million from RM28.3 million last year, driven primarily by the rise in average daily contracts (ADC) in both crude palm oil futures (FCPO) and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Futures (FKLI).
Muhamad Umar said FCPO and FKLI had propelled the Derivatives Market's ADC higher by 18.0 per cent y-o-y to 84,222 contracts in 1Q 2024.
As for the Islamic market, operating revenue remained stable at RM4.5 million, mirroring the previous corresponding quarter's performance, while the data business segment demonstrated significant growth, with operating revenue increasing by 21.9 per cent y-o-y to RM19.0 million from RM15.6 million in 1Q 2023.
Muhamad Umar said Bursa is well-positioned to continue developing the marketplace and make further progress on its strategic plans.
"We expect growth momentum in the data business with the Centralised Sustainability Intelligence (CSI) platform which will foster environmental, social and governance transparency, targeted to be launched in June 2024," he added.
The recently-launched SME X Platform will also contribute to this growth, by connecting the small and medium enterprises to capital providers for fundraising.
"As for the Islamic market, we have seen strong participation in the user registrations of the Bursa Gold Dinar app following its launch on Jan 16.
"We will continue our focus on introducing new value- added features and digital marketing efforts to increase our investor base.
"We also anticipate sustained trading activity within BSAS, supported by ongoing engagements with both local and foreign participants," he added.