India's oldest exchange BSE Ltd delivered exceptional financial results for the June quarter, with consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders surging 62% year-on-year to ₹874 crore compared to ₹539 crore in the same quarter last year. According to the latest exchange filing, the exchange posted profit before tax and share of associates of ₹1,144 crore, up 67% from ₹701 crore in Q1FY26. The strong performance was driven by robust operational efficiency improvements and significant revenue growth across all business segments. Operating EBITDA surged 67.4% YoY to ₹1,046 crore, with the operating EBITDA margin expanding to 67% from 65% a year earlier, demonstrating effective cost management. Before accounting for the exchange's contribution to the core Settlement Guarantee Fund (SGF), profit before tax stood even higher at ₹1,170 crore, a 71% YoY rise from ₹685 crore, as reported by multiple sources.
Revenue from operations demonstrated remarkable resilience with total revenue increasing 63.6% YoY to ₹1,708 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, as reported in the latest exchange filing. Investment and other income also contributed significantly to the growth story, rising 62.1% YoY to ₹141 crore. Operating expenses increased 56.2% YoY to ₹520 crore, while depreciation and interest costs increased 59.3% YoY to ₹43 crore and taxes rose 66.3% YoY to ₹291 crore. Transaction charges, BSE's largest revenue source, increased 1% quarter-on-quarter to ₹1,328 crore, while other operating income rose 5%. Listing services income declined 15% sequentially to ₹100 crore, reflecting a softer primary market environment during the quarter. According to Centrum Broking, the brokerage noted that BSE's Q1 performance was broadly in line with expectations, with operating revenue rising 63.5% YoY, driven by a 93% YoY surge in the equity derivatives segment.
Operationally, BSE recorded its highest-ever quarterly equity cash average daily turnover (ADTV) of ₹9,955 crore in Q1 FY27, demonstrating exceptional market participation. The derivatives segment posted a record average daily premium turnover of ₹29,615 crore, up 96% YoY, highlighting the exchange's growing derivatives traction. BSE StAR MF processed 23.4 crore transactions during the quarter, with revenue from the platform increasing 20% YoY to ₹73.3 crore. The exchange noted that primary market activity recovered in July 2026, with 13 mainboard IPOs raising ₹18,348 crore, while the BSE SME platform crossed 750 listed companies, with the latest 150 SME listings raising ₹6,323 crore. Overall, issuers raised more than ₹6.2 lakh crore through BSE's fund-raising platforms during Q1 FY27 across equity, debt, bonds, commercial papers, REITs, InvITs and municipal bonds.
Total expenses increased 49% to ₹537 crore from ₹359 crore in the same quarter last year, according to the latest exchange filing. Employee benefit expenses rose to ₹87 crore from ₹70 crore, while technology expenses increased to ₹61 crore from ₹50 crore. Clearing and settlement expenses also grew significantly to ₹90.28 crore from ₹55 crore. Regulatory contribution expenses increased to ₹192.78 crore from ₹116 crore, with regulatory contribution being the single-largest driver of cost growth, more than 65% higher YoY. This rise coincides with the central government's Securities Transaction Tax (STT) hike on equity derivatives, effective April 1, 2026, which market participants had flagged as likely to show up in Q1 FY7 numbers across exchanges. Despite these cost pressures, the company maintained strong operational efficiency with EBITDA margin expansion demonstrating effective cost management.
BSE's board approved a significant strategic move by increasing its holding in India International Bullion Holding (IIBH) from 3.33% to 20%, paying ₹50.50 crore for shares acquired from its own subsidiaries, India International Exchange (IFSC) Ltd and India International Clearing Corporation (IFSC) Ltd), a related-party transaction already cleared by SEBI in July. The move makes IIBH, the holding entity for India's GIFT City bullion exchange and depository, a direct associate of BSE. During the quarter, BSE launched derivatives on the BSE Focused IT Index, India's first exchange-traded derivative benchmark linked to the IT sector. The exchange also announced that it will directly manage the global distribution and licensing of its market data from 1 January 2027 to strengthen its data and analytics business. Management said colocation order charges remain at around 20% of prevailing market rates, with pricing likely to be revisited at an appropriate stage. The exchange plans to broaden its product ecosystem across corporate bonds, NPS, electronic gold receipts, market data services and index offerings.
Despite reporting strong Q1 results, BSE shares were down 2.3% to ₹3,534.60 on Wednesday, falling as much as 3.5% to ₹3,490 intraday as key brokerages cut price targets. Nuvama Institutional Equities cut the price target to ₹4,090 from ₹4,570, implying an upside of 13% from current market price, while maintaining a Buy rating, noting that "the company's performance came in 'strong but momentum needs monitoring'" and industry volumes declined due to recent regulations. Motilal Oswal Financial Services maintained its Neutral rating with a price target of ₹3,900, implying over 8% upside, though it cut earnings estimates by 9% and 8% for FY27 and FY28 respectively, factoring in higher operating expenses and weak volume trajectory. JP Morgan maintained a neutral rating with a target price of ₹4,090, while UBS maintained a neutral rating with a target price of ₹4,500, noting that revenue was broadly in line with expectations and earnings were aided by stronger investment income. The stock has dropped 7.7% in the last one month but has given a 21% return in the past six months and surged 48% in the last one year.
