The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) reported a substantial decrease in new listings from 177 to 34, resulting in 16 per cent lower revenues.

Yesterday, the firm also reported a decline in net profit of 8.2 per cent to $171.9 million for the first half of the 2009 financial year.

But the results were supported by increased secondary capital raisings, such as placements and rights issues, which rose 29 per cent.

"Our performance was quite acceptable considering we went through one of the worst financial crises on record," ASX chief executive Robert Elstone said at the company's annual results presentation yesterday.

The impact of the short selling ban on the company's revenues was impossible to specify, he said.

"Other than drawing a trend line ... it is almost impossible to do the maths."

ASX is strongly positioned to take advantage of renewed market confidence "when it occurs", Elstone said.

The ASX also expects to see a more buoyant fixed income market in the coming years, as commonly held attitudes to public debt change and the demand for sovereign debt grows.

"Whilst the government bond market has been kept alive, it hasn't exactly been thriving," Elstone said.

"We need to desperately develop our bond market, especially once a government emissions trading scheme is operating," he said.

Investments in clean energy technologies will raise the demand for long-term debt and the development of a strong bond market would help in a proper assessment of long-term interest rate prices, Elstone said.

"Consideration of longer-dated bond issuance by the Commonwealth would be timely, given the near-term interest rate outlook and strong investor appetite for Australian sovereign debt from Asian central banks and global sovereign wealth funds," he said.