KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Bursa Malaysia Bhd reported a 5.6% growth in its net profit for the second financial quarter ended June 30, 2015 (2QFY15) to RM49.49 million or 9.3 sen per share, from RM46.85 million or 8.8sen per share in 2QFY14, on lower operating expenses.

In a filing today, the integrated exchange regulator said its revenue had increased by 3.1% to RM127.02 million in 2QFY15, from RM 123.15 million in 2QFY14, mainly due to the increase in its listing and issuer services revenue, as a result of higher perusal and processing fees earned from a higher number of new structured warrant listings and corporate exercises in 2QFY15.

For the first half of its financial year ended June 30, 2015 (1HFY15), Bursa reported a 4.9% increase in net profit to RM96.54 million or 18.10 sen per share, from RM 92 million or 17.30 sen per share in 1HFY14, due to higher operating revenue recorded.

Its 1HFY15 revenue increased by 3.2% to RM254.11 million, from RM246.32 million in 1HFY14, on higher revenue from its depository services, which was brought about by higher Central Depository System custody fees, additional issue fees and Securities Borrowing and Lending Fees.

Bursa Malaysia declared that an interim dividend of 16.5 sen per share was declared for 1HFY15, payable on Aug 12,2015.

In a separate statement today, Bursa Malaysia's chief executive officer Datuk Tajuddin Atan said the regulator’s net profit growth for 1HFY15 was positive, due to continued growth seen in its derivatives and Islamic Markets, while costs remained steady.

“Our crude palm oil futures contract continued to grow and has benefited from the increased volatility in commodity prices; and on the Islamic Market, Bursa Suq Al-Sila has seen very high growth figures this year, due to the conversion of bank deposits to Murabaha, and the introduction of Tenor Based Pricing early this year” said Tajuddin.

On its outlook, Bursa said the securities market performance is expected to be challenging, since market sentiment on the FBM KLCI remains soft with pressure building up on the weakening of ringgit and expectations of lower corporate earnings.

“However, we expect this downside to be cushioned by ample domestic liquidity,” said the regulator.

Bursa (fundamental: 2.3; valuation: 2.1) shares closed the morning trade up 1 sen or 0.12% to RM8.10, giving it a market capitalisation of RM4.3 billion.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)