Nomura profit down by over a third
Nomura, Japan’s biggest stockbroker, has reported a 35 per cent fall in fourth-quarter net profit due to a revenue squeeze from lower trading and underwriting fees, post-quake valuation losses on investments, and a higher tax charge.
Nomura, which is expanding in Asia, Europe and the United States after buying part of Lehman Brothers in 2008, posted a net profit of 11.9bn yen (£7.2bn) for the three months ended on March 31, compared with 18.4bn yen in the same period a year ago.
In the previous quarter, ended December 31, the brokerage had a net profit of 13.4bn yen.
For the current business year to March 2012, the consensus net income prediction of six analysts is 75.4bn yen. Nomura does not release its own outlook.
Its nearest rival, Daiwa Securities, posted a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss on Tuesday in part because it had to put money aside to cover valuation losses on its holdings in real estate, insurers and other assets following Japan’s March earthquake and tsunami.