By Francis Allan L. Angelo
The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) posted a 19.3 percent increase in its net income for the first quarter of 2024, reaching Php 242.38 million, up from Php 203.16 million in the same period last year.
The rise in earnings was primarily driven by a 207 percent improvement in other income, amounting to Php 120.17 million. This increase was attributed to higher interest income and mark-to-market gains on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss.
However, PSE’s revenues saw a decline of 7.6 percent, falling to Php 353.34 million from Php 382.29 million. The drop was due to a 24 percent decrease in trading-related revenues, including service, transaction, and block sale fees, which totaled Php 102.43 million. Additionally, listing-related fees decreased by 21.6 percent to Php 114.72 million.
Capital raised from two follow-on offerings and one private placement reached Php 4.89 billion. The daily average value turnover dipped by 1.1 percent year-to-date, settling at Php 6.03 billion at the end of the quarter.
Total expenses for the period rose by 1.3 percent, amounting to Php 174.99 million.
“The PSE index broke past the 7,000 mark intraday several times in the last quarter but failed to hold on to this key level due to persistent concerns on inflation, depreciation of the peso, and geopolitical tensions abroad. Despite the uncertainties these headwinds continue to bring to the market, PSE will carry out liquidity-boosting initiatives in line with its strategy of growing its pool of listed companies and investors and introducing more products and services,” said PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said in a press statement.
To attract more companies to the stock market, PSE launched the “Road to IPO: Embracing the IPO Mindset” campaign in February. This initiative features the IPO journeys of seven publicly listed companies, with their CEOs sharing how going public has supported their growth and expansion.
The 2024 IPO calendar began with the listing of OceanGold (Philippines), Inc. on May 13, and will be followed by Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation’s debut in June.
PSE also partnered with the Department of Migrant Workers to develop a financial literacy program for Overseas Filipino Workers and their families. In March, PSE introduced the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) trading to allow investors to place VWAP-based orders.
Additionally, PSE unveiled PSE EASy version 2.0 in April, featuring an integrated e-payment system within the PSE EASy platform.
The 2024 edition of PSE STAR: Investor Day commenced with the first quarter investor briefing on May 15 and 16. This virtual event includes live briefings from 12 publicly listed companies and 16 recorded briefings from companies that participated in previous PSE STAR events. PSE’s recorded Q1 2024 briefing will also be available on the PSE STAR microsite.
