The Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) had posted strong profit growth of 94% in its Q3FY17 results, and net revenue growth of 20%. However, detailed revenue breakdown shows the company's vulnerability towards bullion trading, with its basket heavily weighted towards that and impacted by demonetization, as transactions in gold fell sharply, hitting volumes traded. 

Increasingly, companies like MCX expect some revival in gold to be driven by the crackdown on the grey dabba markets, bringing transactions back into the organized sector, in bullion and elsewhere.

More broadly however, it is the upcoming SEBI guidelines in commodities that point to future growth for MCX. SEBI is said to be considering approvals for option trading in multiple commodities, including one agri commodity, and the final guidelines here are likely to be notified in February.

SEBI's new regulations in favor of option trading would impact MCX revenues upward in what the management expects to be a "hockey stick effect", where volumes move sharply upward over a period of time. The exchange could launch options four weeks after the new guidelines.

Another guideline that would provide a boost to the commodity exchange is if bank subsidiaries are allowed to distribute commodities. This would ramp up the distribution networks of exchanges like MCX and expand the market.

Finally, also under consideration by SEBI is allowing funds to trade in commodity markets. If SEBI does give this a nod, the client base in commodity markets would expand rapidly as retail investors get access to this space through mutual funds.