The total income of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) dropped by 17 per cent in the 2015 financial year, its annual report showed.
The income dropped to N6.61bn from N7.733bn.
“Top line revenues, primarily composed of transaction fees (39 per cent) and listing income (21 per cent), fell due to continued sluggish market conditions, with total income declining by 17 per cent from the previous year to N6.61bn,” the Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Oscar Onyema, said in the report.
The NSE operating surplus before taxes declined by 53 per cent from the N3.95bn recorded in 2014.
Onyema added, “Despite declines in our core income streams, alternative sources of income continued to play an important role in supporting the financial performance of our business.
“In 2015, revenues excluding transaction fees and listing income grew by 15 per cent, contributing 40 per cent to total revenue. The greatest drivers of this growth were revenues from our proactive investment strategy and income generated from our market services business.”
The Exchange said its market services business had proven to be one of the fastest-growing sources of income in the past five years, with a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 55 per cent between 2011 and 2015.
In 2015, it reported market services income of N377m, representing a 47 per cent increase from N256m recorded in 2014.
In recognition of the important role market services could play in diversifying its income streams, the NSE assured stakeholders that it would continue to commit more resources to drive and sustain its growth.
It added, “From an efficiency conservation aspect, strict budgetary controls deployed during the year ensured that the groups were effectively managed. We also took several measures to ensure viability of the business by enhancing strategic frameworks such as contingency planning and crisis management, from financial and infrastructure perspectives.
“Our balance sheet remains solid, with over N22.78bn in assets, representing a 10 per cent growth rate in 2015. Our liquidity metrics remain resilient as well, with a total liabilities-to-total assets factor of 15 per cent as of December 31, 2015.
In 2015, the NSE became the first securities exchange in Africa to meet the most stringent global standard for information security, the ISO27001:2013 certification.
This achievement, it explained, reaffirmed its commitment to leadership in information management, and gave stakeholders the confidence to trust the Exchange with the safe-guarding and processing of sensitive and confidential information.
