The Hong Kong Stock Exchange reported revenues of $10.6 billion for the first nine months of 2015, a 49 percent annual increase, mostly thanks to an increase in trading and clearing income from its cash and derivatives operations, the exchange said in a statement. The growth was especially marked during the second quarter of the year, it added, thanks to a pickup in market activity on the cash and derivatives markets.
Financial performance benefited from a one-off gain
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) totaled $8.14 billion, a 66 percent improvement on the year, with the EBITDA margin rising to 77 percent thanks to the stable growth in revenues, from 70 percent in the first nine months of 2014.
The net result came in at $6.4 billion, up from $3.64 billion a year earlier, with earnings per share at $5.41 on a fully diluted basis. The company said its financial results also benefited from a one-off gain of $445 million from the sale of a leasehold property that took place in the third-quarter of the year.
Clearing Business Leads Results
By business segment, clearing contributed the most to the overall result, with revenues from this segment standing at $3.996 billion, up 61 percent on the year. Next came cash deals, which saw a 36 percent annual increase to $2.728 billion from $2.315 billion for the first nine months of 2014. Equity and derivatives contributed $1.675 billion to overall revenues, a 37 percent increase from $$1.315 billion.
Revenue from commodities trading totaled $1.322 billion, up 37 percent from $937 million reported for the year-earlier nine-month period. Platform and infrastructure operations revenue came in at $373 million, up 21 percent from $261 million, and corporate items contributed $506 million to overall revenues, up 329 percent from a negative $169 million reported for the first nine months of 2014.
