KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 29): Bursa Malaysia Bhd reported a 57% rise in fourth quarter net profit from a year earlier as the bourse operator and regulator saw higher equities and derivatives trading income. Lower staff cost besides depreciation and amortisation also supported bottom line.

Bursa Malaysia (fundamental: 2.7; valuation: 0.9) said in a statement on its website today net profit rose to RM53.14 million in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014 (4QFY14) from RM33.84 million. Revenue was higher at RM128.48 million compared to RM113.93 million.
 
"Overheads decreased marginally by 3 per cent to RM15.3 million in 4Q14 compared to RM15.7 million in 4Q13," Bursa Malaysia said.

In 4QFY14, Bursa Malaysia said equity trade profit rose 34% while derivative transaction income was 19% higher.

For the full-year, Bursa Malaysia's net profit climbed to RM198.23 million from RM173.08 million a year earlier while revenue was higher at RM503.76 million versus RM474.99 million.

The group plans to pay a dividend of 18 sen a share in 4QFY14, bringing full-year dividends to 54 sen.

The 18 sen dividend requires shareholders' approval at Bursa Malaysia's annual general meeting.

Looking ahead, Bursa Malaysia said it foresaw local institutional and retail investors actively participating in the share market.

This was despite global uncertainty as lower crude oil prices and a weaker ringgit hit investors' sentiment.

"Derivatives market is expected to continue to benefit from the uncertainty in palm oil prices and the volatility in the securities market," Bursa Malaysia said.

Bursa Malaysia shares rose one sen or 0.1% at 12:30pm to settle at RM8.21 for a market capitalisation of RM4.38 billion.

The stock had risen 1.36% this year, almost similar to the FBM KLCI's 1.3% advance.  

(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.)