South Korean Securities Firms Post 77 Percent Rise in First-Quarter Net Profit

Securities companies in South Korea recorded combined net profit of 4.33 trillion won ($2.83 billion) in the first quarter, a 77 percent increase from 2.44 trillion won in the same period last year, according to data released Friday by the Financial Supervisory Service.

Commission fee income almost doubled to 6.69 trillion won from 3.33 trillion won a year earlier, driven by a sharp rise in stock trading. Income from the firms' own investment and trading activities rose 31 percent to 4.1 trillion won.

Stock turnover reached 2,775 trillion won in the January-March period, compared with 641 trillion won the previous year. Total assets stood at 1,098.4 trillion won at the end of March, an increase of 154 trillion won or 16.3 percent from three months earlier. Debts rose 26.8 percent to 991.5 trillion won over the same interval, while the capital base grew 4.4 percent to 106.9 trillion won.

Three futures firms posted combined net profit of 32.6 billion won in the first quarter, up 59 percent from a year earlier.