The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the primary securities exchange in Australia, has announced the preliminary financial results for the first half of its 2019 fiscal year on a Group level, showing a solid performance for the exchange, thanks in large part to an uptick in market activity across all of its businesses.

The first half of the exchange’s 2019 fiscal year ended December 31, 2018. During the six months leading up to this date, ASX achieved revenue of AU$424.7 million ($302.3 million), which is AU$26.0 million more than that achieved in the first half of the Group’s 2018 fiscal year.

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Converting this to a percentage, on a statutory basis, this is up by 3.8 percent year-on-year. On a like-for-like accounting basis, it’s up by 6.5 percent when compared to the first half of fiscal 2018.

Derivatives and OTC Markets See Solid Performance on ASX

This uptick in revenue was driven by solid performance across its businesses. According to the results, this includes stronger derivatives and over-the-count (OTC) markets which is thanks to a rise in futures trading, Austraclear volumes and collateral management activity.

Specifically, revenue for the derivatives and OTC markets increased by 6.3 percent when measured against the first half of fiscal 2018. During the period, futures volumes jumped by 5.3 percent.

Revenue as a result of trading services on the exchange also managed to increase by 8.6 percent year-on-year. This was driven by a solid uptick in cash market trading of 15.2 percent on an annual comparison.

Commenting on the results, Dominic Stevens, ASX Managing Director and CEO, said: “The result reflects the balanced approach we take to investing in the integrity of our core businesses and pursuing growth initiatives. It has allowed ASX to deliver another attractive return to shareholders, with our interim dividend rising 6.7% to 114.4 cents per share.”

“The key performance drivers of our businesses were a 38% increase in capital raised to $62 billion, underpinned by the demerger and listing of Coles; a greater than 5% rise in the number of futures contracts traded, particularly in SPI equity futures; an increase of more than 15% in cash market trading amid market volatility; and the continued expansion in the number and variety of financial market participants in ASX’s Australian Liquidity Centre (ALC), spurring demand for our technical and information services.”