Revenue also increased to RM187.2 million from RM156.5 million previously, driven by a 23% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in the Securities Market’s operating revenue to RM123.1 million in Q1 2024 from RM100 million in Q1 2023, the exchange said in a statement today.
It said the total operating expenses increased by 8.6% y-o-y to RM87.1 million in Q1 2024 from RM80.2 million previously, mainly attributed to higher staff costs and technology expenses.
It said trading velocity also saw an uptick, rising to 39% in Q1 2024 from 31% in Q1 2023.
Additionally, listing and issuer services grew by 8.9% y-o-y to RM16.3 million from RM15 million previously, while depository services witnessed an 18.3% y-o-y increase to RM15.5 million from RM13.1 million last year.
Meanwhile, the Derivatives Market’s operating revenue rose by 12.7% 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).
It said both FCPO and FKLI collectively propelled the Derivatives Market’s ADC higher by 18% y-o-y to 84,222 contracts in Q1 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% y-o-y to RM19 million from RM15.6 million in Q1 2023.
“Market capitalisation stood at RM1.9 billion as at March 31 with basic earnings per share rising by 2.4 sen to 9.3 sen,” the exchange said.
Bursa CEO Umar Swift noted that the exchange 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% y-o-y to RM2.9 billion from RM2.1 billion in Q1 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 as well as improved market accessibility and liquidity to support participants during this period,” he said.
Umar also noted that 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 Platform which will foster environmental, social and governance transparency, targeted to be launched in June 2024,” he added.