Published April 16, 2009

SGX Q3 profit dives 45.5% to $55.3m

Slump due to muted trading, IPO activity; dividend of 3.5 cents per share declared

By JAMIE LEE

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THE Singapore Exchange (SGX) yesterday reported a 45.5 per cent drop in third-quarter net profit, as trading and IPO activity remained muted.

Quiet period: There were just three new listings, including one reverse takeover, in the quarter, down from the previous Q3's 11, which included two RTOs

Profit for the three months ended March 31 slumped to $55.3 million from $101.5 million a year earlier, but met expectations of $55 million, an analyst poll by Reuters showed.

The result translates to earnings per share of 5.2 cents, down 4.37 cents from 9.57 cents a year earlier.

Operating revenue was down 30.9 per cent to $119.8 million, from $173.3 million, as securities market revenue fell 42.6 per cent to $55.3 million, from $96.3 million.

Related links: Click here for SGX's news release Financial statements

Daily average trading value plunged 51.9 per cent to $910 million, from $1.9 billion, while daily average trading volume fell 30.1 per cent to 890 million shares, from 1.27 billion.

Revenue from derivative trades - seen as a bright spot for SGX during the market downturn - was not spared. Net derivatives clearing revenue was down 20 per cent to $31.2 million, from $39 million.

Futures trading volume dropped 20.5 per cent to 11.8 million contracts, from 14.8 million, due to tumbles in trading in MSCI Taiwan futures and CNX Nifty futures.

Trades of MSCI Taiwan futures fell 21 per cent to 3.4 million contracts, from 4.3 million, as investment banks shied away.

The bourse also saw 'muted interest' in the Indian market - trades in CNX Nifty futures were more than halved to 1.4 million contracts.

For the three months, there were three new listings, including one reverse takeover (RTO) - down from the previous Q3's 11, which included two RTOs. These raised just $19.1 million, a big drop from $695.5 million previously.

With more rights issues and other forms of fund- raising, the total amount raised in the secondary market was $6.46 billion - against just $380 million raised a year earlier.

SGX has declared a dividend of 3.5 cents per share for the quarter.

On a nine-month basis, net profit fell 44.7 per cent to $214.5 million, from $388 million for the previous corresponding period.

The shares gained three cents to end at $6.21 yesterday.