Singapore Exchange reported earnings results for the second quarter and half year ended December 2019. The company posted a 9.2% jump in second-quarter net profit to SGD 96.5 million from SGD 88.4 million a year ago. Operating profit came in at SGD 113.7 million, up 10.4% from SGD 103 million, while expenses rose 8.3% to SGD 110.5 million mainly due to higher staff costs and professional fees. Revenue improved 9.3% in the three months to December to SGD 224.16 million from SGD 205.05 million. Earnings per share for the period under review stood at 9 SGD cents versus 8.2 SGD cents in the previous year's corresponding quarter.

For the first half period, the company's net profit rose nearly 5% to SGD 188 million on the back of a 5.7% rise in revenue to SGD 433 million.

The company's board declared an interim dividend of 7.5 Singapore cents per share compared with 5 Singapore cents a year ago.