KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research maintains Trading Buy on Bursa Malaysa due to potential catalysts of higher trading value, sustained market sentiment, a rebound in the effective clearing fee rate, and stronger growth in the derivatives business.
Bursa's FY09 core net profit eased 2.7% to RM101.6m, 8.4% below its forecast as trading value disappointed.
"But reported net profit jumped 70.1% to RM177.6m, beating our projection and consensus by 12-15% due to higher-than-expected gains from the sale of a stake in Bursa Malaysia Derivatives (BMD)," it said on Friday, Feb 5.
The group declared a final net DPS of 9 sen, bringing FY09 net DPS to 17.8 sen, below CIMB Research's projected 26.7 sen.
"We nudge up our net earnings forecasts by 0.8-0.9%, which increases our target price from RM10.60 to RM10.70," it said.
CIMB Research said despite the poorer-than-expected FY09, it remains positive on the stock as it envisage a pick-up in trading value in 2010, driven by the expected inflow of foreign funds and an increase in corporate fundraising activities