Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), which operates Asia’s third-largest stock exchange, reported record annual profit on higher market turnover and a surge in new listings amid a market rally that started in September.
Net profit in 2024 increased 10 per cent to HK$13 billion (US$1.7 billion), or HK$10.32 per share, compared with HK$11.9 billion a year earlier, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.
It also surpassed the previous record of HK$12.5 billion in 2021, and was better than the market expectation of HK$12.94 billion.
HKEX proposed paying a second interim dividend of HK$4.9 per share, bringing the total to HK$9.26 for the year, versus HK$8.41 in 2023, and maintaining the payout at 90 per cent of earnings.
Profit in the final three months of 2024 jumped 46 per cent to HK$3.78 billion, from HK$2.6 billion a year earlier, driven by the stock market rally since September when interest rates began to fall and China announced stimulus measures to support the economy and the property market. This was higher than the market estimate of HK$3.7 billion.
“HKEX achieved significant strategic progress in 2024, with the implementation of key initiatives to enhance its market microstructure and listing franchise,” CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting said in her first full-year result announcement after taking over from Nicolas Aguzin in March last year.
