Meritz Securities, 11 Consecutive Quarters of 'Net Profit 100 Billion Won'

Building a Stable Income Portfolio...3rd Quarter Net Profit Increases by 55.6%

Hee-moon Choi, CEO of Meritz Securities

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] Meritz Securities posted strong earnings in the third quarter of this year. This performance is attributed to the establishment of a stable profit portfolio despite the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the uncertain financial market environment.

According to Meritz Securities on the 5th, the consolidated net profit for the third quarter of this year was 162.5 billion KRW, a 55.6% increase compared to the same period last year. Since the first quarter of 2018, the company has recorded net profits exceeding 100 billion KRW for 11 consecutive quarters through the third quarter of this year. Operating profit and pre-tax profit reached 208.1 billion KRW and 223.9 billion KRW, respectively, marking increases of 72.2% and 57.3% compared to the same period last year.

With the domestic stock market showing favorable performance and an increase in trading volume, brokerage commission income expanded, leading to the retail division achieving its highest quarterly performance. Additionally, the trading division recorded solid results through strategic trading and arbitrage activities. The corporate finance (IB) and wholesale (corporate sales) divisions also contributed to maintaining strong performance with balanced results.

The return on equity (ROE) stood at 13.0%, rising by 0.7 percentage points from 12.3% in the previous quarter, maintaining a top-tier position in the industry. Financial soundness indicators such as the Net Capital Ratio (NCR) for business operations and the leverage ratio were 1562% and 712%, respectively, as of the end of September, improving by 173% and 19 percentage points compared to the end of the previous quarter. The Net Capital Ratio (formerly NCR), mainly used by credit rating agencies to assess capital adequacy, also increased by 16 percentage points to 204% compared to the end of the second quarter.

A Meritz Securities official explained, "Despite the normalization of the COVID-19 situation being delayed beyond expectations, all business divisions recorded satisfactory results."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.