NZX posted a 4.4 per cent decline in third-quarter revenue as a tepid environment for new listings weighed on the stock market operator's income.
Revenue fell to $18.5 million in the three months ended September 30 from $19.3m a year earlier, as listing fees dropped 8.7 per cent to $3.6m, only just keeping its position as the Wellington-based company's biggest source of income. Market operations shrank 22 per cent to $2.3m, while the bright point for the market division was a 10 per cent gain in securities information to $2.6m on an increase in professional terminal numbers and high-value subscription products.
"Total revenues for the quarter were down 4.4 per cent reflecting a quiet quarter for capital raising activity relative to Q3, 2016, which saw substantial new debt listed," NZX said in a statement. The drop in listing fees reflected "lower initial listing fees with no equity listings in the quarter and $1.1 billion of new debt listed compared to $2.2b in the prior year."
The stock market operator has struggled to attract new initial public offerings this year in an environment where global capital markets have become increasingly volatile on the prospect of major central banks drawing a close on their extraordinary stimulus packages, something that's pushed equity markets to record highs.
NZX's agri division posted a 17 per cent fall in revenue to $2m due to the sale of Clear Grain Exchange and certain rural publications in an effort to get on top of the underperforming unit. Of the remaining media assets, NZX's Farmers Weekly advertising page equivalents climbed 15 per cent with "buoyant advertising sales" and an increase in agri data subscriptions to corporate customers, the company said.
