The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. on Thursday reported first-half net income falling 5 percent to P398.02 million from last year’s P417.51 million on lower trading gains.
Its operating revenue stood 2 percent lower to P722.75 million attributed to the 10 percent dip in trading value during the period. This helped cut its income from service fees by P16.2 million and transaction fees by another P9.07 million. A 33.6 percent growth in data revenue partially offset the decline in revenue, the PSE said.
“Persistent high interest rates and geopolitical concerns contributed to tepid trading in the first half. We hope to see more active trading for the rest of the year on expectations of a rate cut and the record first half earnings of banks and other listed firms,” PSE president and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said.
“In terms of listing, our fundraising pipeline at this time includes five FOOs, one SRO and one IPO, which will generate up to P48.36 billion in capital,” Monzon said.
Of the five follow-on offerings, three are expected to proceed in September while the initial public offering, stock rights offer and remaining FOOs are tentatively scheduled in the fourth quarter.
“The PSE continues to pursue projects that will sustain the company’s growth over the years. This includes the planned acquisition of the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp., which we target to complete in the next few months,” Monzon said.
Listing-related revenue proved flat, with listing fees barely changed to P290.98 million from P290.32 million last year.
From January to June, only two companies conducted their initial public offerings, three had their follow-on offerings, one did a stock rights offer and three companies listed shares issued via private placement.
Meanwhile, other income grew 20 percent to P161.98 million from P134.97 million due to interest income and forex translation gains.
This was tempered by the P2.57 million mark-to-market loss on fair value of investments in financial assets, a reversal from the P1.06 million gain in the same period last year.
Total expenses rose 9 percent to P416.13 million from P380.5 million.
