(2nd LD) Mirae Asset Securities Q2 net income down 26.1 pct amid sluggish stock market

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SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's major brokerage house Mirae Asset Securities Co. on Tuesday said its second-quarter net income dropped 26.1 percent from a year ago amid the central bank's monetary tightening that led to a decline in stock markets.

Mirae Asset's consolidated net profit stood at 263.5 billion won (US$202 million) in the April-June period, down from 356.5 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating profit for the three-month period shrank 26 percent on-year to 321.3 billion won, while revenue rose 118.6 percent to 5.77 trillion won.

The second-quarter earnings exceeded market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 172.4 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

The decline in net profit, however, came as South Korea's brokerage industry has faced unfavorable market conditions, including a fall in transaction fees, largely as investors took to the sidelines amid rising borrowing costs.

Mirae Asset's brokerage commission fee, which accounts for 29.4 percent of the firms' total revenue, dropped 31.9 percent on-year in the second quarter on reduced local trading transactions.

The Bank of Korea has delivered six rate hikes since August last year to rein in inflation, but such tightening has weighed on stock markets. Unfavorable stock market situations have made it hard for brokerages to make a profit from underwriting shares issued through initial public offerings.

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