KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — Bursa Malaysia Bhd’s net profit decreased to RM355.25 million for financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY2021), a 6.0 per cent decrease from RM377.74 million a year ago. 

The stock exchange operator’s revenue declined to RM767.54 million from RM798.97 million.

“This is mainly due to lower operating revenue of RM751.63 million in FY2021 compared to RM778.81 million in FY2020, a decrease of 3.5 per cent,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

Total operating expenses in FY2021 was lower by 1.1 per cent at RM288.6 million against RM291.8 million in FY2020.

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It also declared a final dividend of 17 sen per share, amounting to approximately RM137.6 million, bringing the total dividend payout for FY2021 to 41 sen per share, which includes the interim dividend of 24 sen paid out in August 2021.

For the fourth quarter, the stock exchange’s net profit was lower at RM64.95 million from RM104.85 million a year ago. Revenue slipped to RM165.18 million from RM230.70 previously. 

Bursa Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said the exchange demonstrated great resilience and performed well throughout the year, notwithstanding that FY2021 proved to be a challenging year globally.

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“We continued to witness active trading for securities on our stock exchange, at an average daily trading value of RM3.5 billion.

“In addition, we recorded 30 initial public offerings in FY2021 compared to only 19 in FY2020, which raised a total of RM2.7 billion,” he said.

As such, he said the numbers were testaments that companies and investors were confident in the Malaysian capital market and the exchange as a platform for their fundraising and investing needs.

For FY2021, the securities market registered a trading revenue of RM442.9 million compared to RM498.9 million in FY2020, a decrease of 11.2 per cent due to lower average daily trading value for on-market transactions and direct business transactions. 

Derivatives Market trading revenue decreased by 4.1 per cent to RM87.3 million in FY2021 from RM91.1 million in FY2020, despite a record high of 18.4 million total contracts traded last year, surpassing the previous high of 18.2 million total contracts registered in 2020.

Meanwhile, market data revenue increased by 12.2 per cent to RM54.0 million in FY2021 from RM48.1 million in FY2020, contributed by higher numbers of subscribers.

Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said the securities market continues to show long-term growth and provides compelling investment opportunities.

“As for the derivatives market, we will explore new products while revamping existing ones in order to meet the evolving needs of market participants while enhancing its attractiveness to global players,” he said. 

He said Bursa Malaysia also will continue efforts to expand the Islamic capital market by developing new shariah-compliant products and services while exploring product expansion across the value chain of Islamic wealth management solutions. — Bernama