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- The bourse operator Ltd [JSE:JSE] posted a 35% rise in first-half earnings on Tuesday, lifted by robust trading on 's biggest exchange that has sent key indices to a series of lifetime records this year.
The JSE said headline earnings per share, which exclude one-times items and is the main performance measure in , rose to 333.2 cents in the six months to June from 245.5 cents last year.
The exchange had already flagged earnings would come in as much as 40% higher on active trade in equities, derivatives, interest rate and currency markets.
Total revenue increased by 16% to R793.5m and expenditure shrunk 3%.
"The 3% is slightly flattering because it works off last year's base which included the impairment, if you exclude the impairments, cost are up in very low double digit," Chief Executive Nicky Newton-King told Reuters.
Last year's earnings included an R73m charge related to a systems overhaul.
The bourse's two main indices, the Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] and the All Share [JSE:J200], hit record highs this week.
The bourse, whose companies have a combined market value of nearly $828bn according to Thomson Reuters data, plans to launch a new co-location centre in the first half of 2014 to dramatically cut the time delay, or latency, of trades.
The facility will cost a total R50m, and R38m of that will be spent in 2013, it said.
Clients, who will be allowed to place their own computer serves at the bourse, have been demanding faster execution speeds.
The co-location will reduce latency to 100 microseconds, from the current fastest time lag of 2 400 microseconds, giving an edge to high-frequency traders who use sophisticated algorithms to place stock bets.
JSE shares were up more than 2% at 15:30, outpacing a 0.2% rise by the All Share index.
