Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift
KUALA LUMPUR: A surge in trading revenue and profit in the first nine months of 2024 has Bursa Malaysia Bhd
sanguine over hitting its benchmarks for the year.
In a statement, CEO of the stock exchange Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said it is optimistic over meeting all five headline key performance indicators, including the pre-tax profit target that had been revised upwards in July 2025.
During the nine-month period ended Sept 30, 2024, Bursa Malaysia registered a net profit of RM241.22mil as compared to RM192.83mil in the same period in 2023.
Earnings per share in the three quarters rose to 29.8 sen from 23.8 sen in the year-ago period.
Meanwhile, the stock exchange reported revenue of RM598.39mil in 9M24, an improvement from RM459.8mil during the comparative period.
Total operating expenses saw a 30.4% increase to RM273.4mil in 9M24 from RM209.6 million in 9M23, mainly due to higher staff costs, IT maintenance, as well as service fees.
Bursa Malaysia said a one-off reversal of provision in 9M23 also contributed to the higher percentage increase in operating expenses in 9M24.
In the third quarter of the year alone, the group posted a net profit of RM85.74mil, up from RM60.41mil in the previous corresponding quarter, while revenue rose to RM211.26mil from RM158.71mil in the comparative quarter.
For the period under review, Bursa Malaysia said the securities market recorded a 52.9% surge in trading revenue to RM300.3mil, due to higher average daily trading value (ADV) for the on-market trades and direct business transactions.
It said trading velocity improved 13 percentage points to 42% in 9M24, from 29% in 9M23.
In the derivatives market, meanwhile, trading revenue grew 19.8% to RM80.8mil in 9M24 due to the significant growth in the volume of crude palm oil futures (FCPO) and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Futures (FKLI) contracts.
The trading performance of Bursa Malaysia was also boosted by two more trading days in 9M24 as compared to 9M23.
Conference fees and exhibition-related income recorded RM6.4mil in 9M24, down from RM7.3mil in 9M23, primarily due to fewer participants at the Palm and Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference & Exhibition.
Revenue from the Bursa Suq Al-Sila’ Islamic market dropped slightly to RM12.3mil in 9M24 from RM12.9mil in 9M23.
The data business segment saw revenue rising to RM59.4mil during the period from RM51.1mil in 9M23 due to a growing subscriber base.
Umar said Bursa Malaysia remains committed to diversifying fundraising and trading opportunities for stakeholders, including broadening the product range by relaunching Single Stock Futures, and incorporating renewable energy certificates into the Bursa Carbon Exchange.
"The successful issuance of two investment notes through the BR Capital platform further exemplifies our dedication to supporting the capital needs of listed and unlisted small to mid-sized companies, while also providing investors with the opportunity to diversify their portfolios,” he said.
