The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has reported a half year Net Profit of Ksh. 77.4 million, a 30% decrease from Ksh. 110.7 million posted in the first half of 2020.
This decline has been attributed to a 16% drop in equity turnover, which declined from Ksh. 83 billion in the first half of 2020 to Ksh. 70 Billion in half year 2021.
The firm’s revenues also fell 5% from Ksh. 292.4 million in the six months ended 2020 to Ksh. 276.5 million posted in a similar period in 2021. This led to a reduction in equity trading levies by 16% from Ksh. 199.8 million in 2020 to Ksh. 167.3 million in the first half year of 2021.
The NSE Bonds turnover increased up 60% to settle at Ksh. 470 billion in the half year ended June, 2021. Interest income also increased by 28% from Ksh. 36.7 Million in 2020 to Ksh. 46.9 million for a similar period in 2021, a growth attributed to active management of investable funds.
Administrative expenses increased by 9.6% from Ksh. 236.1 million to Ksh. 258.8 million in the period under review. This was mainly driven by additional costs on system enhancements to enhance the business’s cyber resilience occasioned by the virtualization of the NSE trading infrastructure.
Similarly, the NSE Balance Sheet size grew marginally by 6% to close at Ksh. 2.44 billion in the half year ending June, 2021. This increase is due to an increase in retained earnings resulting from the Group’s improved performance in 2020 as well as Ksh. 50 million dividends receivable from investments.
On the flipside, the Group’s Net cash from operating activities decreased in the six months ended 30th June, 2021 compared to June 2020 due to the reduced performance in the period.
“The economy is currently experiencing some level of recovery supported by improved performance of key sectors including financial services and telecommunications. This scenario is expected to have a positive impact on our macroeconomic performance,” said Geoffrey Odundo, NSE Chief Executive Officer.
NSE hopes to increase retail investor activity in the market with the recent launch of the Lipa na Bonga points initiative in partnership with Safaricom.
However, the Group’s Board of Directors does not recommend the payment of an interim dividend for the first half of the year 2021.