Japan's Nomura reports 72% jump in Q3 profit on higher trading income (updated)
03/02/2021 06:22
* Q3 pretax profit for wholesale business 76.9 bln yen
* Wholesale segment leaner after overhaul
(Adds segment profits, background)
TOKYO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Nomura Holdings Inc 8604.T ,
Japan's biggest brokerage and investment bank, reported on
Wednesday a 72% increase in quarterly net profit, bolstered by a
surge in sales at its newly restructured markets and investment
banking business unit.
October-December profit came in at 98.4 billion yen ($937
million), up from 57.1 billion yen a year earlier.
Nomura's wholesale business unit has emerged as a key profit
driver in recent quarters following an overhaul two years ago
that included $1 billion in cost cuts and scaling back some of
its lower growth, lower profitability business.
The segment, which consists of the global markets and
investment banking arms, posted a pretax profit of 76.9 billion
yen for the three months through December, compared with 43.2
billion yen a year ago.
Like its Western peers, Nomura experienced a jump in markets
trading business during the December quarter, stemming from the
high volatility caused by uncertainty around the U.S. elections
and the release of coronavirus vaccines.
Its investment banking business also benefited from a rash
of mergers and acquisitions, as well as emergency corporate
fundraising by Japanese companies, including the country's
biggest airline ANA Holdings.
($1 = 105.0000 yen)
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Richard Pullin and
Stephen Coates)
((Makiko.Yamazaki@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4563-2805;))