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Australia's ASX Ltd, operator of Asia-Pacific's third-biggest stock market, reported an 8.2 percent fall in first-half profit on Tuesday after a drop in revenue from derivatives, listings and cash markets.
ASX reported a net profit of A$171.9 million (US$111.6 million) in the six months to Dec. 31, down from A$187.4 million in the same period a year earlier, and below the A$181.3 million average forecast by 11 analysts in a Reuters survey.
The group said the first half of fiscal 2009 had been the most turbulent on financial markets since ASX was listed in 1998. Its financial performance for the rest of 2009 would be impacted by wider economic and market conditions, it said.
Asia's three major listed bourses have all suffered from a steep fall in trading volumes of stocks and other securities as a worldwide slump in equity markets sidelines investors.
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Derivatives revenue, which accounts for 24.5 percent of total revenue, fell 15.6 percent to A$70.1 million while listings revenue was down 16.0 percent. The group said it continues to evaluate exchange consolidation opportunities.
Last month, Singapore Exchange (SGX), Asia's second largest-listed bourse, posted a 52 percent drop in second-quarter net profit, dented by lower trading volumes and a dearth of new share issues.
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, Asia's largest listed exchange operator, is expected to post a 56 percent drop in net profit in the final quarter of 2008 to HK$950 million ($122.5 million), based on full-year estimates from 14 analysts polled by Reuters Estimates. The exchange will report on March 4.
ASX' interim dividend was 90.4 cents per share, down 8.2 percent on the corresponding interim dividend of 98.5 cents per share. Shares in ASX fell 45 percent last year.
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Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes