THE Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) saw its third-quarter net income rise by 53% to P242.23 million from P158.14 million last year, driven by higher earnings from its investments.

The market operator’s revenue dropped by 11.1% to P320.6 million from P360.47 million a year ago, the PSE said in a recent stock exchange disclosure.

Costs and expenses rose by 15.8% to P202.33 million.

For the first nine months, the market operator grew its net income by 11.2% to P640.25 million from P575.65 million last year, led by growth in other income.

Other income rose by 90.8% to P326.17 million due to higher fair value estimates of the company’s investments in equity funds and dollar-denominated bonds.

Revenue fell by 5.2% to P1.04 billion, while total expenses rose by 11.4% to P618.47 million.

PSE President Ramon S. Monzon said the market operator is optimistic that easing inflation and interest rates will pave the way for capital raising next year.

He added that high interest rates and recent market volatility have prompted companies to opt out of their capital raising plans from the equities market in the last few months.

“Given the remaining offerings in the pipeline, the number of capital raising activities and the total amount raised in 2024 will definitely be lower year-on-year,” he said.

“We recognize the need to increase liquidity in the stock market. To this end, we are continuously working to introduce various products to attract more investors. We also urge the government to pass capital market legislative reforms, including the bill that seeks to reduce stock transaction tax,” he added.

The PSE is targeting six initial public offerings and up to P150 billion in capital raising next year.

On Thursday, PSE shares fell by 0.56% or P1 to P178.70 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave