Bursa Malaysia Delivers Highest Profit After Tax And Minority Interest (PATAMI) Since 2008 - Posts 15% Jump In Its PATAMI And Proposes 18 Sen Final Dividend

 Bursa Malaysia Berhad (“Bursa Malaysia”) delivered the highest PATAMI since 2008 at RM198.2 million, up by 15% for the financial year ended 31 December 2014 (“FY2014”).  Cost-to-income ratio improved from 48% in 2013 to 46% in 2014 while the return on equity recorded an increase from 21% in 2013 to 25% in 2014.

Dato’ Tajuddin Atan, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia said, “Amid the volatility and challenges faced by markets globally, Bursa Malaysia delivered a commendable performance on the back of several key initiatives undertaken by the exchange during the year, coupled with the strong economic fundamentals and domestic resilience.

In 2014, in line with our efforts to build a sustainable marketplace, we initiated the retail outreach programme to engage, educate and grow the domestic retail participation, especially among the young investors. One of the key initiatives in this area was the launch of the BursaMarketplace, the first-of-its-kind online financial portal that provides access to accurate and objective market information.

In addition, we had also widened our derivatives products offerings with the launch of the USD denominated Refined Bleached and Deodorised Palm Olein Futures Contract (FPOL) and the enhanced Five-Year Malaysian Government Securities Futures (FMG5). 

Finally, beyond the continuous corporate governance advocacy programmes undertaken by the exchange, we had successfully launched the Environmental, Social and Governance Index (ESG Index), making the ESG Index the first in Asia to be part of the globally benchmarked FTSE4Good Index Series.”

For the period under review, the average daily trading value (“ADV”) for securities market’s on-market trades rose by 7 percent to RM2.05 billion as a result of higher trading participation from domestic, institutional and retail investors. Average daily contracts (“ADC”) for derivatives market grew by 16 percent to 50,654 contracts largely driven by the increase in the volume of the crude palm oil futures (“FCPO”) contracts. On the Islamic front, Bursa Suq Al-Sila (“BSAS”) recorded a 77 percent increase in its ADV to RM6.86 billion. Despite a marginal increase in the operating expenses of 1 percent due to talent building and market development, the cost-to-income ratio improved to 46 percent in 2014 from 48 percent in 2013.

Bursa Malaysia recorded a PATAMI of RM53.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2014 (“4Q2014”), up 57 percent compared to the corresponding quarter ended 31 December 2013 (“4Q2013”) while its operating revenue at RM119.7 million was up by 15 percent compared to 4Q2013.  The ADV for securities market’s on-market trades was up by 13 percent at RM1.9 billion while ADC traded for the derivatives market increased 31 percent to 54,537 contracts. On the Islamic market front, the ADV of BSAS increased to RM9.87 billion.

Bursa Malaysia proposed a final dividend of 18 sen per share, bringing the full year 2014 total dividend to 54 sen per share.  The proposed dividend will be presented to shareholders during the Company’s 38th Annual General Meeting in March 2015 for their approval.

Dato’ Tajuddin said, “We expect 2015 to continue to be a challenging year where global markets remain volatile. Broadly, Malaysia will have to continue managing the impact of these external factors whilst staying on course to becoming a sustainable and developed economy by 2020. From a market perspective, this will also include having to face greater regional competition as well as navigate the impact of changing regulatory requirements.

The Exchange remains cautiously optimistic as Malaysia has a proven track record for being a tenacious and resilient market arising from the strength of our investor protection and corporate governance framework that has been built over the years. These factors will continue to support the growth agenda in the market whilst maintaining market confidence and integrity.”

The financial results for the full year of 2014 is available on Bursa Malaysia’s website (www.bursamalaysia.com)