The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has posted its financial figures for the 2021 financial year. It has increased its FICC revenue from the 2020 financial year by 24% in total. This is a rise of $40.4 million, which has helped the SGX slightly increase its total revenues from $1.0527 billion to $1.056 billion.
Despite the increase in FICC revenue, the largest trading metric for the exchange saw a drop in revenue. Equities fell from $759.7 million to $701.1 million. This is a fall of 8%. Although in terms of percentage, it’s smaller than the FICC rise, the 8% equated to a drop of $58.6 million.
However, Data Connectivity and Indices saw an 18% increase from $121.6 million in 2020 to $143.1 million in 2021. This is an increase of $21.5 million. The increase in the two smaller metrics has helped create the overall revenue increase as it more than covered the fall in the largest revenue metric.
The increase in revenue hasn’t equated to a rise in profits, though. This is due to the SGX increasing its operating expenses. Expenses have increased by around 8%, taking them from $397 million in 2020 to $430.7 million in 2021. This has caused the EBITDA to fall by 5% and the operating profit to fall by 6%. Profit after tax also fell by 6%, with the exchange posting $445.8 million for the 2021 financial year.
The earnings per share decreased by 6% to 41.6 cents. However, dividends increased from 30.5 cents to 32 cents, a rise of 5%. SGX will also be offering shareholders the opportunity to automatically invest dividends into SGX shares in the form of a scrip dividend scheme.
Although profit for the exchange fell for the 2021 financial year, SGX has clarified this is due to the increase in operating expenses that came from consolidating both Scientific Beta and BidFX, which helped to contribute to increased revenue.
The CEO of SGX, Loh Boon Chye, commented:
Loh Boon Chye Source: LinkedIn
We achieved a strong performance as we invested in growing our business, delivering similar record revenues compared to last year amidst a challenging environment.
Earlier last month, SGX revealed it is further extending its reach into the FX OTC space by fully acquiring MaxxTrader, a single source and direct-to-market FX trading platform
Having gained a degree in economics, Alan entered the world of financial services starting his career in London and then moving to New York for a number of years. His first post at a City bank saw him establish a reputation as an forex trader. Having recently returned from New York after eight successful years, Alan is now a prosperous trader in his own right concentrating on commodities and forex.
