ASX posts 8% NPAT increase for first half but lowers interim dividend
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The news: The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has reported a rise in statutory profit for the six months to December 2024 and decreased its interim dividend.
The numbers: The ASX posted a first-half statutory net profit (NPAT) of $263.6 million, up 8.3% compared to the prior corresponding period. This was above consensus estimates of $261.1 million, according to VisibleAlpha data.
The ASX said its NPAT growth was driven by a rise in operating revenue but was partly offset by increased expenses.
Operating revenue grew 11.2% to $602.8 million which the bourse operator said this was driven by high volumes for cash market trading, clearing and settlement and interest rate futures
Total expenses for the half was at $264.3 million, up 20%, due to costs associated with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) inquiry, investment in key programs including its multi-year strategy Accelerate and increased depreciation and amortisation.
It declared an interim dividend of 101.8 cents per share, a decrease of 8.5% compared to a year earlier.
The context: Late Tuesday, the ASX announced its chief executive Helen Lofthouse would step down after three years in the top job and 11 years at the bourse operator. Lofthouse will leave after the ASX delivers the first phase of its bungled CHESS project which is targeted to go-live in April.
What they said: Commenting on the ASIC inquiry, Lofthouse said the ASX was resetting the Accelerate program to align it with its regulators, set “appropriately aspirational workstream target states, and to adjust scope in response to the Inquiry Panel’s findings, including an additional workstream on governance and independence”.
“Best practices for risk management and resilience are continually maturing but at ASX we have not yet achieved the standards of excellence that we aspire to in our role as a steward of critical market infrastructure,” she said.
“This led us to establish the Accelerate Program… Markets and technology are changing fast and ASX must adapt to ensure we can deliver a future-ready exchange that will power a stronger economic future.”
The source: ASX
