NZX first-quarter profit jumps 40%

Monday 27th April 2009

NZX , manager of the New Zealand stock exchange, posted a 40% surge in first-quarter profit as it lifted revenue while keeping operating costs in check.

Net income rose to $3.04 million, or 12.4 cents a share, from $2.17 million, or 8.9 cents, a year earlier, the Wellington-based company said in a statement. Operating revenue rose 7% to $8.59 million while expenditure was little changed at $4.3 million.

Shares of the exchange rose 1.5% to $6.70, bringing their gain this year to 22%. Under chief executive Mark Weldon, NZX has diversified from basic stocks exchange services, to include an investment in the Bond Exchange of South Africa, the TZ1 Registry – both now being divested at a profit, a stock-trading venture in Australia, agricultural market coverage and news services.

NZX is currently in talks to acquire the energy and related assets of M-co, a transaction that would be funded by debt and equity.

“This environment presents an unparalleled opportunity to further reshape the NZX business for substantial future growth,” Weldon said. “Over the next few years, NZX is well-placed to continue to deliver strong financial results.”

TZ1 is currently at the due diligence stage for a $66 million sale to financial services group Markit.

Capital raised in the first quarter was $1.4 billion, a record for that period and up 67% from a year earlier, with $141 million in equity sales and $1.2 billion of new debt

Total trades fell 14% to 116,688 in the first quarter, while the value of trading declined 29% to $5.1 billion.

Businesswire.co.nz

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