ASX’s share price dropped by more than 3 per cent on Thursday.
Lofthouse, who started her tenure in August, said CHESS was critical market infrastructure and the transition needed to be safe and reliable.
“There’s no doubt that our customers, like me, are really disappointed in the delay. One of the other things I’m very conscious of is that not having a new date yet also creates uncertainty, and it does make it harder for people to plan. So it is a challenge for our customers. And we’re very, very conscious of that,” she said.
“I think the thing to bear in mind here is we have just delivered a really strong result for a company that’s in great shape. And we’re being very transparent with what the costs are and what the areas are that we’re working on.
“I think it’s appropriate that we’re investing in the right way for the future. And that’s very much a story of the long-term sustainable value from ASX.”
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UBS analysts said the cost and capital expenditure outlook were likely to disappoint the market. They also said revenue outlook was likely to be subject to continued volatility, including an uncertain outlook for IPOs. However, rising interest rates should assist interest income and short-end futures volumes.
Morningstar analyst Gareth James said the results were in line with their expectations.
“The results itself was not a big surprise,” he said. “With regard to the outlook, I think the big thing is the step-up in cost guidance and capital expenditure guidance but that was flagged; that is just a bit more information around that.
“But if there is a concern of the market, and looking at the share price it’s down a few percent … it’s around that expenditure side considering the delays to the CHESS replacement project.”
However, James said that he didn’t believe the results would move the needle in a substantial way.
“[The company] may go through a period where costs go up a bit more quickly than previously, but I don’t think there’s a fundamental change happening with this business. It’s still very much the same business today as it was a year or two ago. They need to replace assets as they age which his perfectly normal.“
Shareholders will receive a dividend of 236.4 cents for the year, an increase of 5.7 per cent on the year before.
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