HKEX H1 Net Profit Hits Record High, Surging 24% to HK$10.568 Billion
Nashnova编辑部
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX, 00388) earned a record HK$10.57 billion in net profit for the first half, up 24% year-on-year; the beat over consensus of roughly 4% was driven by simultaneous volume highs across cash equities, derivatives, and Stock Connect.
How strong is this scorecard?
First-half revenue hit HK$16.70 billion, up 19% year-on-year; net profit reached HK$10.57 billion, up 24% — both figures set half-year records.
Broken down by quarter, Q1 net profit was HK$5.19 billion and Q2 was HK$5.38 billion — back-to-back single-quarter records.
This means → HKEX did not ride a one-off spike; two consecutive quarters accelerated, and the trend matters more than any single number.
Analysts had forecast first-half net profit at roughly HK$10.15 billion; the actual figure beat that by about 4%.
Where did the money come from?
Cash equities, derivatives, and Stock Connect volumes all hit half-year highs simultaneously.
The London Metal Exchange (LME) — the world's largest industrial-metals futures platform, owned by HKEX — also posted a half-year volume record.
In plain terms = whether it was stock trading, futures hedging, or mainland money flowing south and foreign money flowing north, every channel was busier than a year ago. HKEX's revenue mix was "across-the-board growth," not a single-product story.
What do dividends and per-share earnings look like?
First-half basic EPS was HK$8.36; Q2 alone delivered HK$4.26 per share, above the consensus estimate of roughly HK$4.
The proposed interim dividend is HK$7.43 per share, up 24% from HK$6.00 a year earlier.
This means → profit growth was passed through to shareholders almost one-for-one, with the payout ratio holding steady — the most direct return signal for long-term HKEX holders.
What does management credit for the growth?
CEO Bonnie Chan cited three drivers: improving market sentiment, strong fundraising demand from tech and AI companies, and active participation by onshore and offshore investors.
On the product side, HKEX listed its first ETF tracking the Hang Seng TECH 100 Index and announced plans to launch China government-bond futures, expanding its fixed-income ecosystem.
This reflects a shift from a single equity-trading venue toward a multi-leg platform spanning equities, derivatives, fixed income, and commodities.
Can this momentum last?
Chan acknowledged uncertainty from the macro environment and geopolitics, but stressed that global capital is seeking exposure to China's innovation economy and broader Asian growth.
In plain terms = management's read is that short-term headwinds exist, but the long-term direction — capital flowing toward Asia — has not changed.
Whether back-to-back record quarters can extend depends on two things: a robust IPO pipeline in the second half and whether market turnover holds at current levels.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.