Guotai Junan Securities profits soar in 2015

A branch of Guotai Junan Securities Co Ltd in Shanghai, China, Nov 29, 2015. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING - Guotai Junan Securities, one of China's leading brokerages, posted an annual profit rise of 132.32 percent year on year to 15.7 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) in 2015, according to its financial results released on Sunday.

Its revenue increased 110.25 percent to 37.6 billion yuan, while earnings per share stood at 2.21 yuan, compared with 1.11 yuan a year earlier, the brokerage said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The firm attributed the profit surge mainly to higher commission fees, which rocketed over 160 percent. Its business in investment banking and wealth management also reaped huge profits.

China's securities industry posted strong profit rises in 2015, when the stock market experienced a dramatic roller-coaster ride, with the key Shanghai index more than doubling between late 2014 and June 2015 before a plunge since then.

Affected by a bearish market this year, the brokerage reported a profit decline of 16.24 percent and a mild revenue rise of 8.54 percent in the first quarter.