The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has reported a 4.5% increase in total income, which rose from 361.1 million shillings in H1 2022 to 377.3 million shillings in H1 2023.
According to the Nairobi bourse’s unaudited financial results for the first half of 2023, this was mainly driven by higher trading activity and increased listing fees.
The NSE also managed to keep its total expenses under control, as they only increased by 4.4% from 275.1 million shillings in H1 2022 to 287.1 million shillings in H1 2023.
The main cost drivers were staff costs, depreciation and amortization, and professional fees.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange said it continued to invest in technology and human capital to enhance its service delivery and operational efficiency.
As a result of the higher income and lower expenses, the NSE recorded significant growth in its profitability. The profit before tax surged by 54.3% from 59.7 million shillings in H1 2022 to 92.1 million shillings in H1 2023.
The profit after tax also jumped by 72% from 40.3 million shillings in H1 2022 to 69.4 million shillings in H1 2023.
The earnings per share (EPS) increased by 80% from 0.15 shillings in H1 2022 to 0.27 shillings in H1 2023.
The NSE said it benefited from the implementation of its strategic plan, which focused on diversifying its revenue streams, enhancing its product offerings, and strengthening its governance and risk management.
Optimistic outlook
The Nairobi Securities Exchange chief executive, Mr. Geoffrey Odundo, was optimistic about the future prospects of the capital markets and would continue to pursue its vision of becoming a leading securities exchange in Africa.
“This period equally presents a good opportunity for the NSE to enhance the uptake of its products in the equity and bond markets. To this end, the NSE will continue to engage with prospective issuers in the private and public sectors.”
“We expect to onboard one company in our main market as well as list on Exchange Traded Fund in the second half of the year. Given the increased interest by issuers and investors in liquid diversified products, the NSE will also continue to encourage the growth of alternative equity investment products such as REITs and ETFs.”
“The NSE is leveraging on technology and innovation to accelerate market growth. In the second half of the year the NSE will launch NSE Connect, an innovative online platform that will link financiers and companies seeking capital,” he disclosed.
“The platform will enable us to tap into the SME financing market which continues to grow rapidly in Kenya.”
He also disclosed that the developments will increase liquidity and accelerate market growth through democratizing access to listed securities to all Kenyans.
The Board of Directors did not recommend an interim dividend for the first half of the year 2023.
