Mirae Asset Securities reported a net profit approaching 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) for the first half of the year, significantly outperforming its competitor, Korea Investment & Securities. The firm also surpassed Shinhan, Hana, and Woori Financial Groups, excluding KB Financial Group. Analysts attribute this strong performance to substantial valuation gains from its investment in the American aerospace company SpaceX.
On August 12, Mirae Asset Securities announced a consolidated net profit of 1.9052 trillion won ($1.5 billion) for the second quarter, marking a 369.4% increase year-on-year and a 90.2% rise from the previous quarter. This achievement marks the first time in the securities industry that a firm has recorded over 1 trillion won in net profit for two consecutive quarters, following a first-quarter profit of 1.0019 trillion won ($760 million). The pre-tax profit for the same period reached 2.5287 trillion won ($1.9 billion), up 386.1% from the previous year and 86.3% from the last quarter.
For the first half of the year, the cumulative net profit stood at 2.9072 trillion won ($2.2 billion), a 337.8% increase compared to the same period last year. The pre-tax profit for the first half was 3.8863 trillion won ($2.9 billion), reflecting a 348.6% rise. As of the end of the second quarter, the company's equity capital was 16.2 trillion won ($12.3 billion), with an annualized return on equity (ROE) of 39.5% for the first half.
The first-half net profit significantly outpaced that of its rival, Korea Investment & Securities, which reported a consolidated net profit of 1.7311 trillion won ($1.3 billion), leaving a gap of 1.1761 trillion won ($890 million). Last year, Mirae Asset's annual net profit was 1.5936 trillion won ($1.2 billion), falling short of Korea Investment's 2.0135 trillion won ($1.5 billion), but this year has seen a turnaround.
In the second quarter, Mirae Asset's performance also exceeded that of major financial groups. While its second-quarter profit was slightly below KB Financial Group's 1.9922 trillion won ($1.5 billion), it surpassed Shinhan Financial Group's 1.8201 trillion won ($1.4 billion). The profits of the five major banks—Shinhan Bank (1.3015 trillion won), KB Kookmin Bank (1.1240 trillion won), Hana Bank (1.0213 trillion won), Woori Bank (842.7 billion won), and NongHyup Bank (605.2 billion won)—were all lower than Mirae Asset's.
A key factor in this performance was the valuation gains from its investment in SpaceX, which went public in June. Under the vision of Chairman Park Hyun-joo, Mirae Asset Group has invested approximately 800 billion won ($600 million) in SpaceX since 2022, with over 600 billion won ($450 million) coming from Mirae Asset Securities. In the second quarter, the valuation gains from SpaceX accounted for 1.6242 trillion won ($1.2 billion), or 64.2% of the pre-tax profit.
In addition to the SpaceX effect, the company also saw growth in its core operations. Brokerage commission revenue in the second quarter reached 625.6 billion won ($470 million), a 36% increase from the previous quarter, while revenue from financial product sales hit a record 131 billion won ($100 million). Total customer assets, both domestic and international, rose to 784 trillion won ($590 billion), an increase of 124 trillion won ($93 billion) from the first quarter, with pension assets exceeding 80 trillion won ($60 billion).
Overseas subsidiaries also contributed significantly, recording a pre-tax profit of approximately 609.1 billion won ($460 million) in the second quarter. The overseas operations, including those in the U.S., Hong Kong, London, and India, showed balanced performance, with their contribution to consolidated pre-tax profit increasing by 6 percentage points to about 24% compared to the previous quarter.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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