KUALA LUMPUR (April 22): Bursa Malaysia Bhd's net profit climbed 4% to RM47.06 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2015 (1QFY15), from RM45.15 million a year earlier. Profit growth came mainly on higher income from derivative trades.

In a statement on its website today, bourse regulator and operator Bursa Malaysia (fundamental: 2.3; valuation: 1.7) said revenue was higher at RM127.09 million, compared to RM123.17 million.

Bursa Malaysia said the derivative segment recorded a profit of RM13.7 million, from RM12 million, due to higher number of contracts traded. The derivative segment undertakes trades including crude palm oil futures transactions.
 
"Derivatives market operating revenue for 1Q15 was RM28.1 million, representing an increase of 11% compared to RM25.2 million in 1Q14," Bursa Malaysia said.
 
It said the derivative market was expected to continue to benefit from the volatility in both palm oil prices and securities market.

Higher derivative income had offset weaker financials in certain components of Bursa Malaysia's securities operations.

The group said listing and issuer services revenue decreased to RM10.8 million, due to lower initial and additional listing fees. This decline came on the absence of initial public offerings and fewer corporate exercises during the quarter.

Looking ahead, Bursa Malaysia said it remained committed to grow its business.

"Despite the challenging outlook for the remaining period of 2015, we will remain focused on growing and developing our businesses, as well as expanding our reach in the marketplace," it said.

At 2:44pm, Bursa Malaysia shares fell nine sen or 1% to RM8.77, for a market capitalisation of RM4.86 billion.

Earlier, Bursa Malaysia was among top decliners across the exchange, ahead of its results announcement. The stock had fallen to its lowest so far today at RM8.66.

(Notes: 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.)