Stock Exchange group Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has announced its consolidated Q3 2016 financial metrics ending 30th September 2016. The significant drivers of group revenue during the period were subdued activity on the Cash Market in Hong Kong and Commodities trading on the LME offset by increased trading of derivatives contracts on the Futures Exchange .
Revenue
Overall revenue and other income for Q3 2016 dropped to $8.47 billion from $10.60 billion in Q3 2015, representing a fall of 20 percent compared to the prior period. However, after excluding exceptional gains of $514 million in Q3 2015, revenue and other income decreased by 16 percent.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses in Q3 2016 increased to $2.52 billion from $2.46 billion in Q3 2015 reflecting a 2 percent rise against the same period last year. After eliminating a one-off recovery of $77 million from the liquidators of Lehman Brothers Securities Asia in Q3 2015, underlying operating expenses decreased by 1 percent compared to the prior period.
EBITDA
EBITDA of $5.95 billion for Q3 2016 decreased by 27 percent from $8.13 billion in Q3 2015.
Profit attributable to shareholders decreased by 30 percent to $4.52 billion in Q3 2016 against $6.42 billion in Q3 2015, where exceptionally high trading income delivered record high profits for the group.
Taking into account difficult trading conditions, the Q3 2016 profit attributable to shareholders compares well with pre-2015 results and was 24 per cent higher than the equivalent period in 2014.
Overview
Overall, HKEX has reported that despite the difficult conditions experienced in the various markets in which the group operates, revenue and overall financial performance remained steady in Q3 2016 compared to the prior quarter, compounded by some pickup in volumes during September.
