The Lucrative Market: How Stockbroking Firms are Raking it in This Quarter

Securities Companies Group witnessed a surge in profits in Q1 2024. According to VietstockFinance, the combined profits of 78 securities companies exceeded VND 6,451 billion, a 114% increase year-on-year. Compared to the previous quarter, profits rose by nearly 40%.

This continues the upward trend in securities companies’ profits. Since the lows of late 2022, securities companies’ profits have rebounded significantly. The Q1 2024 profit level is the highest in the past eight quarters (since Q2 2022).

The overall profit results of the group are approaching the peak achieved in Q4 2021. The profit figure for Q1 this year ranks third in the history of the stock market.

According to explanations from many companies, the positive market performance in Q1, coupled with strong liquidity, contributed to positive results in brokerage, lending, and proprietary trading activities.

The VN-Index in Q1 2023 recorded a gain of over 13%, rising from 1,129.93 to 1,284.09 points. Out of 734 listed stocks on the two exchanges, 68% increased in price during Q1, indicating a significant probability of holding appreciating stocks in portfolios.

The average liquidity of the two listed exchanges reached VND 23.2 trillion per session, a 32% increase year-on-year.

With the positive market sentiment, margin lending activities also became more vibrant. Securities companies’ lending balances exceeded VND 208 trillion, a 14% increase compared to the beginning of the year.

Riding on the overall positive trend, securities companies reaped substantial profits in Q1.

Among the top performers, 19 securities companies reported profits exceeding VND 100 billion. Techcom Securities (TCBS) achieved profits of nearly VND 930 billion, almost 2.8 times higher than the previous year and a 32% increase compared to the previous quarter.

SSI Securities (SSI) ranked second with after-tax profits of nearly VND 730 billion, a 41% increase year-on-year.

In terms of growth, compared to the same period last year, several companies reported manifold increases in profits, including VNDIRECT Securities (VND), VPS Securities (VPSS), Saigon-Hanoi Securities (SHS), Thien Viet Securities (TVS), and ACB Securities (ACBS).

A total of 44 companies, accounting for over 56%, reported profit increases of several times compared to the same period last year.

Notably, VIX reported a 15-fold increase in profits year-on-year. However, this result represents a 15% decrease compared to the previous quarter.

Among the leading securities companies, some bucked the trend with declining profits. Notably, VPBank Securities (VPBankS) witnessed a 44% decrease in after-tax profits year-on-year and a 23% drop compared to the previous quarter. Explaining its Q1 performance, VPBankS attributed the decline to a significant reduction in financial asset profits due to market volatility and falling interest rates.

However, the joy was not shared by all. This quarter, 13 securities companies reported losses. Among them, SBS incurred the heaviest loss of VND 37.6 billion. Wall Street Securities ranked second with a loss of over VND 21 billion.

In the case of SBS, high operating and financial expenses amounting to VND 40 billion, coupled with nearly VND 20 billion in losses from proprietary trading, led to an inefficient quarter for the company.

Similarly, WSS also suffered losses due to inefficient proprietary trading activities.

Chi Kien