Brokerages' H1 earnings soar on active stock trading

South Korean securities companies saw their first-half earnings jump from a year earlier thanks to active stock trading, industry sources said Sunday.

According to the sources, KDB Daewoo Securities Co. reported last week that its net profit spiked 134 percent on-year to 229.4 billion won ($195 million) in the first half due mainly to increased fee income.

Samsung Securities Co. said its first-half net income came to 207.8 billion won, more than 4 times the bottom line a year earlier.

NH Investment & Securities Co., which was created through a merger last year, posted a net profit of 161.7 billion won in the January-June period.

Mirae Asset Securities Co.'s first-half net profit surged 38.4 percent on-year to 125.8 billion won in the first half.

Other major securities companies also saw their first-half earnings increase sharply from a year earlier, the sources said.

The jump in brokerages' first-half earnings was attributed mainly to active stock trading, with the average daily turnover of the local stock market hovering above 10 trillion won in the first six months. (Yonhap)