KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — Bursa Malaysia Bhd’s net profit for the financial year ended December 31, 2019 (FY2019) fell 17 per cent to RM185.86 million from RM224.04 million posted in FY2018.
Revenue decreased to RM502.49 million from RM550 million previously.
The stock exchange operator, in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, said the decline was mainly attributed to lower operating revenue, which decreased 8.2 per cent to RM480.1 million in FY2019 compared to FY2018.
Nevertheless, it has declared a final dividend of 10.4 sen per share for FY2019, amounting to about RM84.1 million, which is payable on February 28.
Chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said Malaysia continued to demonstrate long-term growth and offers compelling investment opportunities despite a relatively challenging year in 2019.
He said the energy, construction and technology sectoral indices had performed positively, growing by 51 per cent, 34 per cent and 29 per cent respectively, in 2019.
“The positive trend amongst small and mid-cap counters are also opportunities for investors to build upon,” he said.
He said last year, Bursa Malaysia was ranked second in Asean for the number of listings, a testament to its strong fund-raising capabilities.
Muhamad Umar said retail participation reached 24.5 per cent last year, a record high in the last five years.
He said as at December 3 last year, market capitalisation on Bursa Malaysia stood at RM1.7 trillion, an increase of 0.7 per cent year-on-year, while the average daily contracts traded on the derivatives market decreased by two per cent to 55,372 contracts.
On prospects, Bursa Malaysia said greater volatility is expected in both the securities and derivatives markets this year, arising from global and local developments such as the on-going US-China trade negotiations and the recent 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak.
“Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the exchange is expected to benefit from this volatility which will provide greater activity in the respective markets.
“Bursa Malaysia will continue to expand and strengthen its product and service offerings to enhance the market attractiveness and vibrancy,” it added. — Bernama
