SINGAPORE (July 27): Singapore Exchange reported a 3% decline in its FY17 earnings ended June of $340 million, or earnings of 31.7 cents per share, compared to $349 million in FY16.
This included a one-off loss of $4.0 million loss from the disposal of shares of the Bombay Stock Exchange and one-off acquisition costs of $3.7 million for the Baltic Exchange.
Excluding the one-offs, underlying net profit in FY17 would have been $347.4 million.
Operating profit declined 2% to $402 million from $409 million the same period last year, while revenue also decreased 2.1% to $801 million from $818 million last year.
For the 4Q ended June, operating revenue came in at $207.7 million versus $198.1 million a year ago. Quarterly earnings came in at $85.2 million versus $76.8 million a year ago.
Looking ahead, SGX is optimistic in Asia’s economic growth prospects as companies are increasingly interested to raise capital.
Loh Boon Chye, CEO of SGX, says, “We expect Asian market activities to return to the higher levels of past years. As a leading risk management hub we are well placed to meet the needs of market participants.”
SGX has proposed a final dividend of 13 cents per share, payable on Oct 6. Total dividend for the year of 28 cents per share represents an 88% payout of the FY17 reported net profit.
Shares in SGX closed 2 cents lower at $7.54 on Thursday.
