Mirae Asset Securities unveiled plans Thursday to cancel about 1.4 trillion won ($1 billion) worth of treasury shares as part of a new shareholder return policy, even as valuation losses on its SpaceX investment pushed the brokerage into the red in the third quarter.
The company plans to cancel 65 million common shares held in treasury, equivalent to about 60 percent of its existing holdings, following its annual general shareholders' meeting next year. Mirae Asset valued the cancellation based on Wednesday's closing share price.
The move is part of Mirae Asset's shareholder return policy for 2027-2029, aimed at strengthening shareholder value despite earnings volatility.
Since 2018, Mirae Asset has adopted shareholder return policies on a three-year cycle, gradually raising its return target from at least 25 percent to 30 percent in 2021 and 35 percent in 2024. The company has also set a goal of canceling at least 100 million treasury shares by 2030.
"Through investments and businesses conducted by our overseas subsidiaries, we will generate profits and repatriate them to our domestic headquarters in the form of dividends, actively using them as a source of shareholder returns," a Mirae Asset official said.
The announcement came as the brokerage reported a net loss of 405.6 billion won for the July-September quarter, reversing its strong performance in the first half of the year.
Its consolidated operating loss reached 502.3 billion won, compared with an operating profit of 1.62 trillion won a year earlier, while revenue fell 7.1 percent to 7.5 trillion won.
Mirae Asset attributed the downturn to sluggish stock market trading and valuation losses on investment assets, including its SpaceX holdings.
"Earnings declined from the previous quarter as market trading activity slowed and valuation losses on investment assets were reflected. However, excluding losses from proprietary investments, recurring profit remained solid at around 380 billion won," the company said.
Despite the quarterly setback, overseas operations continued to perform strongly. Cumulative pretax profit at its overseas subsidiaries surged 138 percent on-year to a record 713 billion won in the first nine months of 2026.
The company said overseas profits would help finance shareholder returns through dividends paid to its Korean headquarters.
silverstar@heraldcorp.com
