[DigitalToday reporter Oh Sang-yup (오상엽)] Kiwoom Securities' operating profit in the third quarter fell by nearly half from the previous quarter. Stock brokerage commission revenue dropped sharply as trading value declined, reflecting the impact of its retail-focused business structure on results.

Kiwoom Securities said in a filing on Thursday that third-quarter operating profit on a consolidated basis fell 48.52 percent from the previous quarter to 406.1 billion won. It was also down 0.67 percent from a year earlier.

Third-quarter revenue was 6.93 trillion won, down 56.88 percent from the previous quarter. It rose 105.65 percent from a year earlier.

Net profit for the period was 238.6 billion won, down 64.95 percent from the previous quarter. It was also down 26.00 percent from a year earlier.

Stock brokerage commissions, a key source of revenue, fell sharply. Third-quarter stock commission revenue was 244.7 billion won, down about 46 percent from 451.9 billion won in the previous quarter.

Kiwoom Securities has secured a high market share in retail brokerage centered on individual investors, so changes in trading value have a relatively large impact on its results. It is interpreted that commission revenue fell along with third-quarter declines in trading value in the domestic stock market.

Derivatives commission revenue was tallied at 42.2 billion won.

Trading gains and losses and dividends and distributions in the sales and trading (S&T) unit were 140.2 billion won, down from 249.2 billion won in the second quarter. It was up about 90 percent from a year earlier.

The investment banking (IB) unit, meanwhile, showed growth. Third-quarter IB fee income was 96.8 billion won, up 62.4 percent from a year earlier.

As the retail and S&T units slowed from the previous quarter, higher IB revenue appeared to have partly supported overall results.