Securities Firms Also Show Strong Momentum in Q1 This Year

Mirae Asset Securities Records All-Time High Operating Profit
Hyundai Motor Securities Also Achieves Record Performance
Q2 Performance Inevitably Declines Compared to Previous Quarter

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Securities firms continued their streak of strong performances in the first quarter of this year. However, although the start of the second quarter was better than expected, a decline in earnings compared to the previous quarter seems inevitable.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 7th, Mirae Asset Securities recorded sales of 4.7634 trillion KRW, operating profit of 419 billion KRW, and net profit of 296.8 billion KRW in the first quarter. These figures represent increases of 32.9%, 41%, and 54.5% respectively compared to the same period last year, with operating profit reaching an all-time high.

NH Investment & Securities, which previously announced its results, also saw its first-quarter operating profit surge 596% year-on-year to 374.4 billion KRW, and net profit skyrocketed 728.1% to 257.4 billion KRW. Hyundai Motor Securities posted a 72% increase in operating profit to 57 billion KRW and a 67% rise in net profit to 41.2 billion KRW in the first quarter, achieving the highest operating and net profits since its founding. KB Securities also recorded an all-time high quarterly net profit of 221.1 billion KRW.

All sectors showed strong performance, but the increase in trading volume had the greatest impact. In January this year, the average daily trading volume of the KOSPI and KOSDAQ reached 42.1 trillion KRW, marking a record high with a 254.3% increase compared to the previous year. In the case of Mirae Asset Securities, the brokerage commission revenue record set in the third quarter of last year was broken again in the first quarter of this year.

With the stock market in April performing better than expected, the second quarter started smoothly, but a decline in earnings compared to the previous quarter is expected to be unavoidable. According to KB Securities, the average daily trading volume in April was 28.2 trillion KRW, up 7.7% from the previous month, and the monthly average market capitalization increased by 5.5%. The turnover rate also rose by 5.3 percentage points. Kang Seunggeon, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "Considering that the stock index has been sideways and that the trading volume of 28.2 trillion KRW is not low, and given concerns about weakening brokerage momentum since January, related indicators are showing a favorable trend. However, not only the difference in trading volume but also the base effects of proprietary investment (PI) performance, dividends and distributions, and equity-linked securities (ELS) operating profits will inevitably lead to a decline in second-quarter earnings compared to the first quarter."