By Peter Frontini
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian stock exchange operator B3 reported on Thursday its recurring net profit for the fourth quarter grew by 6.0%, but was slightly below analysts' estimates.
The company posted recurring net profit of 1.23 billion reais ($244.05 million), compared with the market consensus, compiled by Refinitiv, of 1.27 billion reais.
Net revenue fell 4.2% to 2.18 billion reais, while revenues from the firm's listed segment, which includes equities and equity instruments, shrunk 5.5%.
The sharp rise in interest rates and inflationary pressures in Brazil in the last three months of 2021 led to a decrease in the number of public offerings during the period, with only one initial public offering and two follow-ons.
Even so, "B3 continued to see high trading volumes on its platforms," the company said in its earnings report. The average daily traded volume on the Sao Paulo stock exchange was 31.53 billion reais in the quarter, mostly in line with the previous year.
The company posted recurring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 1.65 billion reais, while its EBITDA margin fell by 278 basis points to 75.9%, mainly due to B3's strategy to lower trading fees as more Brazilians start to invest.
According to B3, the number of individual investors in Brazil grew 37.6% during 2021, reaching almost 3.7 million people.
($1 = 5.0400 reais)