Brokerage houses in S. Korea post 39 pct gain in Q1 earnings

SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- Brokerage houses in South Korea reported a 39-percent
rise in earnings during the first quarter of fiscal 2009 from a year earlier as
commission income increased amid a bullish stock market, the financial watchdog
said Sunday.
The combined net profit of 61 brokerage houses, including 20 foreign securities
firms operating in South Korea, reached 1.08 trillion won (US$863.2 million) in
the April-June period, compared with 777.9 billion won a year earlier, according
to the Financial Supervisory Service.
They closed their books March 31.
"The rise in their bottom line came mainly because brokerage commission income
advanced amid increased stock transaction volume," the watchdog said. Such
commission income rose 30 percent on-year to 1.66 trillion won, it said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 15.2 percent in
the cited period mainly because foreign investors' risk appetite revived amid
hopes for an economic recovery.
Their average return on earnings (ROE), a measure of profitability, reached 3.4
percent on average as of the end of June, up 0.8 percentage point from a year
ago, the watchdog added.
The combined assets reached 174.9 trillion won as of end-June, up 14.8 percent
from a year ago, it added.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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