SEOUL– South Korea’s major brokerage house Samsung Securities Co. saw its net profit nearly halved in the second quarter of this year from a year ago as stock transaction fees shrank amid sluggish markets.
Consolidated net earnings came to 136.82 billion won (US$105 million) in the April-June period, down 48.26 percent from a year ago, according to the firm’s regulatory filing.
Operating profit decreased 48.7 percent to 182.78 billion won, while revenue jumped 106.26 percent to 4 trillion won, during the cited period.
In the first six months, the brokerage firm’s net profit shrank 47.86 percent to 288,597 billion won.
The company attributed the earnings decline to the shrunken stock trading transactions that slashed profits from trading commission fees and asset management.
South Korea’s stock markets have been under pressure from the central bank’s swift rate hikes to rein in inflation, which stoked fears over their impact on economic growth.
The Bank of Korea has delivered six rate hikes since August last year, including the latest 0.75 percentage point increase last month.
Source: Yonhap News Agency