Bucharest Stock Exchange’s profit down 44% in first half of the year

Romania’s Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) recorded a net profit of EUR 960,000 (RON 4.24 million) in the first half of the 2013, a year-on-year decrease of 44.5 percent, while its operating revenues dropped 10.6 percent to some EUR 2 million (RON 8.9 million), due to a similar drop in trading revenues. BVB’s operating profit also went down 30 percent in the first six months of 2013, compared to the same period last year, due to lower operating revenues and the slight increase in operating expenses - up 1.7 percent. The financial profit dropped to some EUR 506,000 (RON 2.22 million) in the first half of 2013, a year-on-year decrease of some 54 percent. The decrease was mainly triggered by “the lower dividends received from the Central Depository, lower unrealized foreign exchange rate gains and the decline in interest earned,” according to BVB. In the second quarter of 2013, BVB’s operational profit was around EUR 430,000 (RON 1.89 million), almost three times higher compared to the previous quarter, “as the second public offering for 15 percent of Transgaz and the private placement of OMV Petrom shares performed by Fondul Proprietatea had a notable contribution to the trading revenues increase,” according to BVB. Compared to the same period in 2012, the operating profit went up 9.5 percent. In April-June 2013, BVB’s net sales went up 19.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013, to EUR 1.1 million (RON 4.84 million), while the operating expenses were lower compared to both the previous quarter and the same period last year. Find the entire BVB report here. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com