KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 — Against a backdrop of falling business confidence, the operators of the Bursa Malaysia stock exchange today announced a net profit of RM173.1 million for its financial year ending December 31, 2013.

Bursa Malaysia Bhd also said the profit after tax and minority interest (PATAMI) of RM173.1 million was its highest since 2008.

The amount was an increase of 15 per cent over 2012, which it said was due to initiatives to improve the exchange’s technological infrastructure and expanding its product range.

Bursa Malaysia also proposed a final dividend of 16 sen per share, bringing its total dividend for 2013 at 52 sen per share.

“We have stepped up the pace of the execution of projects and have significantly completed the refresh of our core systems,” said the exchange’s CEO Datuk Tajuddin Atan in a statement here.

Its PATAMI for the fourth quarter of 2013, however, fell 5 per cent from the same quarter in 2012 to RM33.8 million.

The results mirrored a survey by the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) that local business confidence fell during the same period.

Bursa Malaysia’s cost-to-income ratio fell from 49 per cent in 2012 to 48 per cent in 2013. A decreasing figure signifies improvement. The ratio has been decling steadily over the past five years.

The return-on-equity increased from 18 per cent in 2012 to 21 per cent in 2013, breaking the 20 per cent benchmark for the first time.

In addition, the stock exchange expected its capital expenditure to fall in 2014 compared to RM33 million in 2013, after it completed its technology refresh.

This follows the delivery of its refreshed trading engine in December 2013, the Bursa Trade Securities 2, which cost nearly RM30 million.

After a dismal year in 2013 from uncertainties involving the 13th general elections, Tajuddin announced today his optimism over several planned major initial public offerings this year.

Bursa Malaysia’s market capitalisation increased 16 per cent in 2013 to RM1.9 billion from RM1.7 billion in 2012.

Its average daily trading value also increased by 28 per cent to RM2.1 million in 2013 compared to RM1.7 million in 2012.