Meritz Securities Co. said Monday its second-quarter earnings sank nearly 17 percent from a year earlier amid unfavorable market conditions, but its bottom line climbed almost 10 percent in the first half.

Consolidated net profit came to 158.4 billion won ($121 million) in the April-June period, down 16.7 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Yet Meritz Securities, a major brokerage house in South Korea, registered net income of 100 billion won or more for 18 consecutive quarters.

Sales increased 201.4 percent on-year to 14.7 trillion won in the second quarter, but operating profit fell 17.1 percent to 198.8 billion won.

Meritz Securities said its second-quarter earnings were crimped by surging interest rates and a tumble in stock market turnover due to the weak market.

But its first-half results got a boost from robust performances of trading, arbitrage and investment banking operations.

Consolidated net income stood at 440.8 billion won in the January-June period, up 9.7 percent from a year earlier, with its operating income expanding 9.8 percent to 575.8 billion won. First-half sales were unavailable.

Meritz Securities said its equity capital came to 5.63 trillion won as of end-June, up more than 230 billion from three months earlier.

The securities company also said its consolidated return on equity, or a key measure of profitability referring to net profit divided by equity capital, came to 16.1 percent at the end of June. (Yonhap)