The net profit of Taiwanese securities companies in the first half of this year decreased by NT$20.42 billion (US$694.2 million) compared with the same period last year, as investors navigated a market roller-coaster in the second quarter, driven by US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.
The sector’s aggregate net profit totaled NT$33.94 billion, down 37.57 percent from a year earlier, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said in a statement yesterday.
The TAIEX fell 3.38 percent in the first half of the year, with the index dropping to as low as 17,391 points in April, in response to Trump’s 32 percent “reciprocal” tariffs on Taiwanese goods. The over-the-counter (OTC) market index also lost 9.57 percent over the period, making Taiwanese equities the weakest among major markets in the world.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Due to a slump in stocks and the significant decline in turnover, securities companies’ fee income fell 12.23 percent year-on-year to NT$40.54 billion in the first half, the TWSE said.
They also saw profits from proprietary trading plunge 76.68 percent to NT$3.86 billion and those from the underwriting business decline 29.39 percent to NT$3.19 billion compared with a year earlier, it said.
The market stabilized last month, with the TAIEX rising 4.26 percent in the month, which helped boost the main board’s turnover to NT$7.78 trillion, or 16.13 percent, from May, the exchange said.
The recovery allowed securities companies’ combined net profits to surge 69.72 percent last month from a month earlier to NT$11.95 billion, driven by profit gains of 23.58 percent, 107.9 percent and 49.18 percent in fee income, proprietary trading and underwriting business from May respectively, it said.
The TAIEX yesterday fell 42.57 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 23,340.56, TWSE data showed.
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