Singapore Exchange (SGX) has reported earnings of $445.4 million for the FY2021 ended June, a decline of 6% y-o-y from $471.8 million previously.
Adjusted earnings for the FY2021 came in at $446.9 million, declining 7% y-o-y. This translates to adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 41.8 cents, compared to 45 cents the year before.
Revenue totalled $1.06 billion for the full year, increasing by 0.3% y-o-y from $1.05 billion. Underlying business revenue was up 7% excluding the decline in treasury income, amidst a low interest rate environment.
Total expenses for the FY2021 increased 8% to $525.2 million from $486.9 million, largely due to the consolidation of expenses relating to Scientific Beta and BidFX, excluding which total expenses would have decreased 4% to $457.8 million.
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Adjusted EBITDA stood at $623.9 million, falling 5.4% from $659.7 million the year before.
The board of directors has proposed a final quarterly dividend of 8 cents per share for the 4QFY2021, payable on October 22.
If approved, this would bring the total dividends for FY2021 to 32 cents per share, compared to 30.5 cents per share in FY2020.
FICC revenue – comprising Fixed Income as well as Currencies and Commodities – Derivatives revenues – increased 24% y-o-y to $211.8 million, accounting for 20% of total revenue.
Excluding BidFX which was acquired in July 2020, FICC revenue would amount to $172.1 million, compared to $171.4 million the year before.
Fixed Income revenue rose by 17% y-o-y to $14.9 million, driven by a boost in listing revenue, which was up 22% y-o-y to $11.5 million.
There were 795 bond listings in the FY2021, with amounts issued of $389.1 billion. In comparison, FY2020 saw 1,032 bond listings with amounts issued of $452.1 billion.
Currencies and Commodities – Derivatives revenue increased 24% y-o-y to $196.9 million, accounting for 19% of total revenue. Trading and clearing revenue increased 41% y-o-y to $152.6 million, while Treasury and other revenue fell 13% y-o-y to $44.3 million.
Equities revenue – comprising Equities – Cash as well as Equities – Derivatives revenues – declined 8% y-o-y for the FY2021 to $701.1 million, accounting for 66% of total revenue.
Equities – Cash revenue increased 3% to $412.7 million. There were 11 new equity listings in FY2021. Total primary and secondary funds raised dipped 5% to $17.9 billion, while daily average traded value (DAV) increased 2% to $1.4 billion. Total traded value increased by 2% to $340.1 billion.
Equities – Derivatives revenue declined 20% to $288.4 million. Trading and clearing revenue declined 8% to $230.9 million, while treasury and other revenue fell 48% to $57.5 million.
Data, Connectivity and Indices (DCI) revenue increased 18% y-o-y to $143.1 million, accounting for 14% of total revenue.
“In FY2021, we continued to build, partner and acquire strategically – strengthening our capabilities, products and platforms across asset classes. We achieved a strong performance as we invested in growing our business, delivering similar record revenues compared to last year amidst a challenging environment. Notwithstanding the lower treasury income, our core business segments remained robust, with our fast-growing subsidiaries, Scientific Beta and BidFX, providing an added boost. While the low interest rate environment will continue to impact our treasury income, we believe it will also spur demand for our multi-asset offerings as investors seek enhanced returns,” says Loh Boon Chye, CEO of SGX.
In FY2021, Scientific Beta’s assets under replication (AUR) exceeded US$60 billion ($81 billion), while BidFX’s average daily volumes (ADV) increased more than 60% y-o-y to US$43 billion.
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The recent acquisition of MaxxTrader, which is expected to close in 2QFY2022, will lift the combined ADV of SGX’s FX franchise to more than US$75 billion. Excluding transaction costs, the acquisition of MaxxTrader is expected to be accretive to SGX’s adjusted earnings from FY2022.
Scientific Beta and BidFX contributed 7% to total group revenues in FY2021. Together with MaxxTrader, total revenue contribution from SGX’s recently acquired subsidiaries would exceed 9%.
“We are in a strong position to advance our leadership as a multi-asset exchange, expand our network as a best-in-class partner, and enlarge our support for customers globally with our refreshed pan-Asia product shelf and stronger international presence. We are also focused on executing our recent FICC investments and partnerships, such as TrumidXT, Marketnode, Climate Impact X and our upcoming FX Electronic Communication Network (ECN). As a group, we are now well poised to help our customers capture the growth opportunities in Asia and capitalise on trends such as passive investing, digitalisation and sustainability,” added Loh.
Shares in SGX closed 12 cents or 1.01% higher at $12.05 on August 4.
Photo: SGX
