NZX said it had been necessary to invest in new staff and technology recently.
NZX said it had been necessary to invest in new staff and technology recently.
Stock exchange operator NZX Ltd’s profit slipped just over 4 per cent in the last financial year, which had trading volumes at their lowest in nine years.
The company reported a net profit of $13.6 million for the 2023 year, down 4.3 per cent from $14.2m in the year prior.
But operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) were up 9.6 per cent to $40.1m.
The ebitda excluded acquisition and integration costs.
While the S&P/NZX50 produced a return of 2.3 per cent for the year, trading and clearing volumes – a key earnings driver for NZX – were down 9.7 per cent to $33.8 billion.
Despite that, operating revenue increased $12.7m to $108.4m, driven by incremental revenue from Smartshares’ acquisition of QuayStreet Asset Management, Smartshares’ organic fund growth, and the continued growth of its information services and dairy market business.
‘Extremely conscious’ of costs
Operating expenses increased $9.2m to $68.3m, driven by incremental costs as a result of integrating the Smartshares acquisitions, inflationary pressures, and increases in costs related to compliance and statutory obligations.
Chief executive Mark Peterson said NZX was “extremely conscious” of its cost base and the cost pressures it was facing.
It had been necessary to invest in new staff and technology as it assumed the support functions for the new clients it received through acquisitions.
NZX chief executive Mark Peterson said the company applied a lot of effort to reviewing headcount, managing project priorities and rationalising supplier contracts. Photo / Dean Purcell
“However, we have dedicated effort to reviewing headcount, managing project priorities and rationalising supplier contracts across the NZX Group.”
‘Significant’ capital-raising events
The company had prioritised key projects that would deliver to its strategy, put on hold other projects, and negotiated supplier contract savings opportunities.
“Cost control remains a priority,” Peterson said.
For the year, $14.2b of capital was listed and raised on market with “more than” 24 “significant” capital-raising events, ranging in size from $1.5m to $902m.
“The diverse range of capital raisings in 2023 reflects NZX’s ability to deliver to issuers’ capital needs and highlights the value of being NZX-listed in a more economically difficult and capital-constrained environment,” Peterson said.
Debt deals
A total of $8.8b was raised in debt deals. Of that, $6.7b was raised in 25 primary debt deals.
The balance, $2.1b, was raised through secondary retail debt deals.
