Investor caution causes ASX profit fall SHARE market operator ASX's first half profit has fallen by 2.5 per cent due to lower investor activity in the first three months of the 2012/13 financial year. ASX made a net profit of $171.1 million in the six months to December 31, down from $175.6 million in the previous corresponding period. It said revenue in the first three months of the half was down 8.8 per cent compared to the previous corresponding period, and was up by 2.8 per cent in the second three months. The average value of market trades in the first seven weeks of the second half of the financial year are down 4.2 per cent on the same period in the previous year, but capital raised is up by 49 per cent, chief executive Elmer Funke Kupper said on Thursday. "The recent economic and political news from the United States and Europe suggests that there is a greater level of stability, from which economic recovery becomes possible," he said. In Australia, market volatility has been low and recent activity levels have been more stable. While this does not create an immediate higher growth environment for exchanges, it does support a gradual return of investor confidence. ASX declared a fully franked interim dividend of 87.9 cents per share, down from 92.8 per cent for the previous corresponding period.