This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 9, 2016.

Bursa Malaysia Bhd (+ve)

INTEGRATED exchange operator Bursa Malaysia (fundamental: 2.3/3; valuation: 1.1/3) closed one sen or 0.1% lower to RM8.60 yesterday, with 1.47 million shares done.

 For FY15, operating revenue increased 3.5% year-on-year to RM487.7 million on higher derivatives trading revenue, which helped offset softer securities trading revenue. Net profit, however, was flat at RM198.6 million, largely due to higher staff costs and other operating expenses.

 Bursa Malaysia also proposed a final dividend of 18 sen per share for FY15, which will go “ex” on April 1. It expects the market outlook for 2016 to remain challenging, but that volatility in commodity prices and the FBM KLCI will spur trading activities in its derivatives market.

The stock currently trades at a trailing price-to-earnings of 23.2 times and 5.73 times book value. Dividends for FY15 totalled 34.5 sen per share, giving a 4% yield.