(Corrects April 15 story to show net profit dropped 46 pct)
* Q3 net profit misses forecasts
* Sees prospects in commodities, OTC clearing
* Maintains dividend
* Shares up 0.5 pct ahead of results, in line with mkt
By Kevin Lim
SINGAPORE, April 15 (Reuters) - Singapore Exchange <SGXL.SI>, Asia's second-largest listed bourse, posted a bigger-than-expected 46 percent drop in quarterly net profit as trading volumes plunged, but it said it saw prospects in areas such as clearing over-the-counter trades.
"The quarter has been challenging with all revenue categories affected," CEO Hsieh Fu Hua said in a statement. "Nonetheless, there are opportunities that SGX can take advantage of in derivatives, commodities and OTC clearing."
Hsieh said the Singapore bourse would not hold back on technology investments to improve its trading systems.
Investors around the world have fled stock markets amid a meltdown in asset prices, hurting SGX and other bourses which derive a large chunk of earnings from fees on equities trading.
Most stock markets have rebounded since March, but transactions remain thin as many investors sit on the sidelines on concerns the rally was not sustainable amid a worsening global economic outlook.
SGX posted S$55.3 million ($37 million) in net profit for the fiscal third quarter ended March 31, down from S$101.5 million a year ago as stock trading volumes plunged and new listings nearly ground to a halt.
Its earnings, the lowest since July-September 2006, were below a S$64 million mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Analysts are divided on SGX, with six recommending a "buy" or "outperform" and eight rating the stock a "sell" or "underperform". Another six analysts have a "hold" rating.
"Investor interest will not be sustained as the economic issues still have to be resolved," said Leng Seng Choon, an analyst at DMG & Partners in Singapore. He expects trading volumes to drift downwards in coming months as investors await clearer signs of a global recovery.
For Graphic on SGX's earnings, click: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/apr09/SG_EXCH0409.jpg
According to SGX, the daily average value of shares traded fell to S$910 million in the third quarter from S$1.9 billion a year ago. There were just two initial public offerings against 9 in the same period last year.
Net derivatives clearing revenue, which had risen in the past few quarters, dropped by a fifth to S$31.2 million.
SGX ranks behind the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing <0388.HK> in market value, and ahead of the Australian Securities Exchange Ltd <ASX.AX>.
Analysts expect SGX to report a 35 percent drop in net profit for the year ending June, while HKEx will likely see annual net profit fall 27 percent. ASX's earnings are expected to fall by a smaller 12 percent to A$323 million for the year to June.
ASX's earnings have held up better than its Asian rivals as secondary capital raising by Australian firms have offset the drop in trading volume and new IPOs.
SGX shares ended the January-March quarter little changed, against a 3 percent fall in the benchmark Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> during the same period.
SGX maintained its dividend at 3.5 Singapore cents a share.
