The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) registered profit of P50.62 million in the first quarter, down 71.1 percent from P175.00 million in the same period in 2018.
“The decrease in net income was mostly due to a 184.3 percent drop in its other income on lower fair value of investments and lower interest income,” the PSE said.
Operating revenues stood at P294.72 million, down 0.4 percent from P295.80 million in 2019, with the country’s sole stock exchange reporting a 1.2 percent decline in trading-related fees.
“The COVID-19 pandemic definitely affected our revenues for the quarter. Investors opted to be liquid and hold on to cash, hence, the slowdown in trading activity particularly during the enhanced community quarantine period in Metro Manila and Luzon. Issuers also opted to put on hold fund raising plans,” said Ramon Monzon, PSE president.
The PSE said expenses for the quarter were down 11.9 percent to P142.56 million from P161.82 million last year, on lower operational and administrative costs.
“Meeting our original target for capital raising will be quite a challenge as most companies would probably be reducing their capital expenditures and defer their expansion plans for the rest of the year. The only silver lining would be if banks become more strict and selective in their lending policy and listed companies who need funds have no choice but to raise the same from the equities market,” Monzon said.
“We noted brisk trading activity in June. We hope this will be sustained in the coming months. But overall, we think that investors will remain cautious as uncertainties from COVID-19 remain. They are also waiting for second quarter numbers of listed firms for a more concrete picture on how the pandemic impacted operations and consequently, revenues of companies,” he added.
Monzon said the PSE is reviewing its listing rules to make fund raising in the stock market even more accessible to companies. The company is also looking at potential digital services that can be introduced as a response to the new business landscape due to the impact of COVID-19.
