Bursa Malaysia Announces Rm121.4 Million Profit After Tax for the First Quarter of 2021
Image: Bursa Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, 27 April 2021 – Bursa Malaysia Berhad (“Bursa Malaysia” or the “Exchange”) recorded a Profit After Tax (“PAT”) of RM121.4 million for the first quarter ended 31 March 2021 (“1Q2021”), an 87.5% increase from RM64.7 million reported in the previous corresponding quarter ended 31 March 2020 (“1Q2020”). The increase in PAT is primarily due to higher operating revenue by 56.7% to RM228.0 million from 1Q2020. Total operating expenses in 1Q2021 increased by 9.2% to RM69.4 million from RM63.5 million in 1Q2020.
Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia said, “Building on the momentum from last year, we have started the year on a firm footing. Average Daily Trading Value (“ADV”) for Securities Market’s On-Market Trades (“OMT”) continues to grow, increasing by 100.8% to RM5.1 billion from RM2.5 billion in 1Q2020. Domestic retail investors continue to play a significant role in our marketplace, sustained by the easy access to the stock market and low-interest-rate environment. We have seen a resilient performance in our markets in 1Q2021 and expect it to continue to attract investments and trading in 2021.”
For the current quarter under review, Securities Market registered trading revenue of RM150.9 million compared to RM78.1 million in 1Q2020, increased by 93.3% due to higher ADV for OMT in 1Q2021. The higher effective clearing fee rate in 1Q2021 also contributed to the increase in trading revenue but this was partially offset by the lower number of trading days. Trading velocity in 1Q2021 was higher by 31 percentage points to 70% compared to 39% in 1Q2020.
Derivatives Market trading revenue decreased by 15.7% to RM22.6 million in 1Q2021 from RM26.7 million in 1Q2020, mainly due to lower number of contracts traded for Crude Palm Oil Futures (“FCPO”) and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Futures (“FKLI”), as well as the lower number of trading days in the current quarter under review. Average Daily Contracts (“ADC”) saw a decrease of 6.1%, with 80,338 contracts in 1Q2021 compared to 85,578 contracts in 1Q2020.