KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd, which has a track record of paying out special dividends on record-high securities average daily value (SADV) years, could pay out as much as nine sen a share this year, RHB Investments Bank Research said.
The payout of RM70 million translates to an additional 0.9 per cent yield.
RHB Research said Bursa Malaysia's SADV reached RM3.9 billion in the second quarter of 2024 (Q2 2024) which brought the average in the first half of 2024 (1H24) to RM3.5 billion, an increase of 68 per cent year-on-year (YoY).
The firm said the 1H24 average is ahead of its 2024 SADV assumption of RM3.2 billion.
"However, there has not been any explicit indication from management on whether there will be special dividends in FY24," it said in a note.
RHB Research raised its FY24-FY26 SADV forecasts for Bursa by 9-15 per cent. Its forecast for FY24 of RM3.7 billion implied an SADV acceleration in 2H24 to RM3.9 billion.
"As a result, our net profit estimates are revised by 7-13 per cent. We assume no special dividends at this juncture," it said in its note.
The firm kept its "Buy" call on Bursa with a higher target price of RM11.25.
The firm said there is minimal risk of a slowdown in trading activity and ongoing geopolitical developments such as tensions in the Middle East and the US elections could induce further volatility in the domestic equity market.
On the derivatives front, Bursa's derivatives daily average contracts (DADC) in Q2 2024 stood at 85,600 , bringing the 1H24 average to 84,900.
The firm also raised its DADC estimates by 2-4 per cent, in line with the 1H24 performance.
"We infer that Bursa's Q2 2024 revenue could reach RM200 million, implying a robust 1H24 revenue increase of 29 per cent YoY," it said.
Given the stronger-than-expected income year-to-date, RHB Research said Bursa could record a net profit of RM75-85 million in Q2 2024, bringing the 1H24 total to RM150-160 million, ahead of the firm's and street's initial estimates.