KTB Securities Records Half-Year Net Profit of 92.8 Billion Won, 'All-Time High'... Surpasses Previous Year by 120% in Six Months

Record Highest Profit... 1328% Increase YoY
Subsidiaries Including KTB Network and KTB Asset Management Also Sailing Smoothly

KTB Investment & Securities Headquarters Exterior (Provided by KTB Investment & Securities)

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] KTB Investment & Securities recorded its highest-ever performance in the first half of this year, surpassing last year's total net profit within just six months.

KTB Investment & Securities announced on the 17th that it achieved a record high net profit of 92.8 billion KRW in the first half of this year, far exceeding last year's annual net profit in just half a year.

The company appears to be continuing its trend of breaking its annual maximum profit record for two consecutive years since 2019. In the first half of this year, it recorded a pre-tax profit of 120 billion KRW on a consolidated basis, surpassing 100 billion KRW for the first time in a half-year period since becoming a securities firm. Additionally, net profit reached 92.8 billion KRW, a 1327.7% increase compared to the same period last year. Sales for the first half were 271.8 billion KRW, and operating profit was 80.9 billion KRW.

On a separate basis, net profit was 104 billion KRW, marking a 943.6% increase compared to the same period last year. This is attributed in part to gains from the sale of existing shares by KTB Network. Such gains from the sale of existing shares are not reflected in the consolidated results.

Even excluding this, performance across all business divisions improved significantly compared to the previous year. The Investment Banking (IB) division focused on stable, high-quality transactions, achieving 165% of the previous year's total profit in just half a year. The Fixed Income, Currency, and Commodities (FICC) division also more than doubled last year's total profit in the first half through diversification of revenue sources such as structured derivatives sales. Bond sales maintained solid performance by diversifying handled products, and the retail division more than doubled its results thanks to new customer acquisition and increased transaction volume.

Subsidiaries also showed excellent performance. KTB Network recorded an operating profit of 54.3 billion KRW and a net profit of 44.1 billion KRW, setting a record high since its corporate split. Gains from investment asset recoveries and high success fees were key factors. Successful profit recoveries from domestic and overseas invested companies continued, earning 21.5 billion KRW in fund success fees in the first half alone, nearly double last year's annual performance fees (approximately 11.1 billion KRW). In the first quarter, profit recoveries from invested companies such as Baedal Minjok (Woowa Brothers) and Rainbow Robotics drove results. In the second quarter, successful IPOs of leading unicorn companies (unlisted startups valued over 1 trillion KRW) like CARsgen, which successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, significantly increased investment asset valuation gains.

KTB Asset Management posted an operating profit of 7.4 billion KRW, a 96% increase compared to the same period last year. The average fee rate rose 23% year-on-year from 15.9 basis points (bp, 1 bp = 0.01%) to 19.6 bp, supported by increased sales of high-fee products such as public offering high-yield funds and EMP funds. Additionally, the alternative investment division surpassed total assets under management (AUM) of 3.5 trillion KRW.

A KTB Investment & Securities official stated, "The efforts made over the past three years to improve the revenue structure are showing positive effects in performance improvement," adding, "Based on this strong performance, we expect key projects such as the KTB Network's KOSDAQ listing and the acquisition of savings banks, which are underway in the second half, to proceed smoothly."