Bursa Malaysia Berhad recorded a Profit After Tax and Zakat of RM56.2 million for the first quarter ended 31 March 2023 which is, a 17.4% decrease from RM68.0 million reported in the previous corresponding quarter ended 31 March 2022 (“1Q2022”).
The Exchange said the decline in PAT was primarily due to a 13.4% decrease in the Securities Market’s operating revenue to RM100 million in 1Q2023 from RM115.6 million in 1Q2022. Meanwhile, total operating expenses increased by 10.6% to RM80.2 million from RM72.5 million in 1Q2022, owing to higher marketing & developmental expenses, technology costs, and depreciation expenses.
For the current quarter under review, the lower operating revenue in the Securities Market is primarily due to a decrease in trading revenue, with the average daily trading value for On-Market Trades and Direct Business Trades recording RM2.3
billion against RM2.7 billion in 1Q2022. Trading velocity decreased by 5 percentage points to 31% from 36% in 1Q2022. Listing and issuer services decreased by 11.4% to RM15.0 million from RM16.9 million in 1Q2022, while depository services dipped by 8.7% to RM13.1 million from RM14.4 million in 1Q2022.
On a Quarter on quarter basis the Derivatives Market’s operating revenue rose by 13.5%, to RM28.3 million from RM24.9 million in 1Q2022, mainly due to the conference fees and exhibition-related income, which increased to RM6.7 million from RM1.5 million in 1Q2022. This increase it said was attributed to a higher number of participants attending the Palm and Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference & Exhibition 2023 held in March. However, the Derivatives’ Average Daily Contracts (“ADC”) had decreased by 7.9%, at 71,366 contracts compared to 77,513 contracts in 1Q2022, resulting in a lower Derivatives trading revenue by 7.9% to RM21.5 million in 1Q2023 from RM23.3 million in 1Q2022.
On the Islamic Market front, higher trading activity in Bursa Suq Al-Sila’ (“BSAS”) resulted in an 18.5% increase in trading revenue to RM4.5 million in 1Q2023 from RM3.8 million in 1Q2022. The data business segment continued its growth momentum, with operating revenue increasing by 5.7% to RM15.6 million from RM14.8 million in 1Q2022.
“The first quarter of 2023 proved to be a challenging period for the capital markets due to various macroeconomic factors, with the Securities Market’s ADV returning to pre-pandemic levels compared to 1Q2022. However, on a quarter-to-quarter basis, we have seen an improvement with our PAT being 14.6% higher than the fourth quarter ended 31 December
2022, which was at RM49.0 million,” said Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia.
