PSE net earnings jump 101% to P417.5 M

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) said yesterday its consolidated net earnings surged 101 percent to P417.5 million last year, buoyed by increased number of listings resulting from a resurgent stock market.

The PSE index (PSEi) jumped 37.6 percent or 1,148.46 points as of December 30, the last trading day of 2010, reflecting strong investor confidence.

“The market continued to benefit from the country’s economic fundamentals, and the general optimism by foreign investors towards emerging Asian economies. The Exchange’s income reflected these favorable conditions and the confidence of investors in the stock market,” PSE president and chief executive officer Hans B. Sicat said.

Consolidated revenues climbed 50.2 percent to P938 million, of which P401.9 million came from listing-related income which represents a 99-percent surge from the previous year’s P202.1 million. Among the companies that listed last year were Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. and IP E-Game Ventures Inc. which listed by way of introduction on the stock exchange; Petron Corp. and San Miguel Corp. which listed new preferred shares; and Cebu Air Inc., IP Converge Data Center, Inc. and Nickel Asia Corp. through an initial public offering.

Trading-related fees also rose 26 percent to P176.029 million. Last July 26, the PSE rolled out a new trading system called PSEtrade, which was acquired from NYSE Technologies. With the roll-out, average daily volumes climbed by 47 percent to P6 billion from July 26 to Dec. 30, 2010 after trading by only an average of P4.1 billion per day prior to the launch.

Operating expenses, on the other hand, increased by 17.5 percent to P407.195 million due to higher manpower cost, depreciation (mainly caused by the installation of the new trading system in July) as well as repairs and maintenance. These expenses comprised about 64 percent of the total operating expenses.

Given robust results, the PSE has declared total cash dividends of P12 per share (P6.16 regular dividend and P5.84 special cash dividend) to stockholders of record as of March 24. Payment date for the dividends is April 11.