PSE’s 1H24’s P398M net income down 4.7%
‘Persistent high interest rates and geopolitical concerns contributed to tepid trading in the first half.’
Daily Tribune‘Persistent high interest rates and geopolitical concerns contributed to tepid trading in the first half.’
High interest rates and geopolitical tension were among the factors cited for the lower earnings posted by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in the first half of the year.
In a statement, PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon said, “Persistent high interest rates and geopolitical concerns contributed to tepid trading in the first half. We hope to see more active trading for the rest of the year on expectations of a rate cut and the record first-half earnings on expectations of a rate cut and the record first-half earnings of banks and other listed firms.”
The local bourse operator reported a total of P398.02 million in net income for the first six months of 2024, down 4.7 percent from the P417.51 million it posted during the same period in 2023.
Lower operating revenues
Operating revenues were lower by 2.3 percent to P722.75 million.
The decline in operating revenues was attributed to the 10 percent dip in average trading value during the semester, which reduced PSE’s income from service fees by P16.20 million and transaction fees by P9.07 million.
A 33.6 percent growth in data revenue offset in part the decrease in revenues.
Listing-related revenues were up 0.2 percent year-on-year as listing fees increased to P290.98 million from P290.32 million.
IPOs
Two companies conducted their initial public offerings during the first half of the year. Likewise during the same period, three listed firms had their follow-on offerings (FOOs), a listed company did a stock rights offering, and three companies listed their shares issued via private placement transactions.
Other income grew by 20 percent to P161.98 million from P134.97 million due to interest income and forex translation gains. The surge was tempered by a P2.57 million mark-to-market loss on fair value of investments in financial assets, a reversal from the P1.06 million gain in the same period last year.
Total expenses rose 9.4 percent to P416.13 million from P380.50 million.
Fund-raising pipeline
Meanwhile, the PSE chief head said, “In terms of listing, our fund-raising pipeline at this time includes five FOOs, one SRO, and one initial public offering (IPO)” which he said are expected to generate up to P48.36 billion in capital.
Of the five FOOs, three are expected to proceed in September while the IPO, SRO, and remaining FOOs are tentatively scheduled in the fourth quarter of the year.
“PSE continues to pursue projects that will sustain the company’s growth over the years. This includes the planned acquisition of the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp., which we target to complete in the next few months,” informed Monzon.
