With PDS takeover PSE earns more in H1

MANILA, Philippines —  The consolidation of the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS) boosted the earnings of the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) by a quarter in the first half.

The PSE reported a net income after tax of P495.7 million from January to June, up by 25 percent from P398 million in the same period last year.

The company attributed the growth primarily to the consolidation of PDS following its acquisition of controlling interest.

Since the PSE acquired additional interests in PDS from December 2024 to June 2025, it is now treated as a subsidiary.

In the same period last year, the PSE said that it recorded income from PDS as an associate company.

“As a result, the group no longer recorded equity income from PDS which contributed to the decline in other income this year,” the PSE said.

PSE’s shareholdings in PDS currently stands at 92.06 percent, with plans to increase it to as high as 97 percent through the acquisition of shares held by state-run Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines.

The PDS is the holding company that owns the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp., the operator of the fixed income exchange, as well as the Philippine Depository and Trust Corp. (PDTC), which acts as depository, registry and provides value-added services such as collateral management.

Operating revenues of the PSE in the first half soared by 82 percent, driven by the significant increase in trading-related fees and listing-related fees, which grew by P233.9 million and P36.7 million, respectively.

The surge in revenue from trading-related fees was bolstered by transaction fees from the subsidiaries of PDS, while the increase in revenue from listing-related fees was buoyed by the additional listing fees and listing maintenance fees.

Further, the PSE said that depository securities account fees from the PDTC contributed an additional P282.4 million, boosting total revenues.

However, the company said the increases were partially offset by the combined effect of a 70 percent jump in total expenses and a 58 percent decline in other income.

“The decrease in other income was mainly due to foreign exchange losses driven by prevailing market volatility and interest expense from loans payable,” it said.

During its annual stockholders’ meeting last Saturday, PSE shareholders re-elected the company’s board of directors.

The 15-member PSE board is comprised of one president-director, not more than five broker directors, at least five independent directors and at least four directors representing the interests of issuers, investors and other market participants.

Jose Pardo and Ramon Monzon were re-elected as chairman and president and CEO, respectively.

“The fresh mandate given to the PSE board will ensure continuity in the reforms and initiatives we have started pursuing to attract more listings and introduce new products and services that will enhance liquidity in the capital market,” Pardo said.