Brokerage firms in South Korea saw their net profit grow sharply last year thanks to increased transactions fees, data showed Monday.

According to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service, 58 brokerage firms reported 9.09 trillion won ($7.5 billion) in their combined net profit last year, up 54.2 percent from a year earlier.

The spike stemmed in part from increased transactions fees that expanded 23.2 percent on-year to 16.8 trillion won last year, the data showed. Their earnings from fees in the investment banking sector also jumped 31.9 percent on-year to 5.19 trillion won.

Their return on equity, a major gauge of profitability, improved to 12.5 percent from the previous year's 9.1 percent, while their sales and administrative expenses rose 19 percent on-year to 12.09 trillion won, the data showed.

Despite last year's stellar performance their net profit in the fourth quarter shrank 48 percent from the previous quarter to 1.3 trillion won, raising worries that their earnings could worsen in the months to come.

As of end-December, their total assets stood at 620 trillion won, up 9.9 trillion won from a year earlier.

Their liabilities remained almost unchanged at 542.4 trillion won, with their own equity growing 9.8 trillion won on-year to 77.6 trillion won, the data showed. (Yonhap)