South Korean securities firms pulled off a combined net profit of $48 million from their overseas operations last year, swinging back to the black through recapitalization and restructuring.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Thursday, 48 overseas subsidiaries of 15 Korean securities companies registered a combined net profit of $48 million for fiscal 2017, turning around from $45 million net losses a year earlier. The bottom line improved through recapitalization by parent companies and streamlining of money-losing operations.

Profits were made in eight locations. Operations in Hong Kong delivered the largest net income of $40 million followed by Brazil with $9.4 million and Indonesia with $8.2 million. Businesses in the United Kingdom turned out a profit of $2 million and Vietnam $900,000.

In contrast, Korean brokerage houses lost money in four markets - $13.2 million in the United States, $800,000 in China, $100,000 in India and $40,000 in Cambodia. Expenditures increased there amid expansion.

Assets of overseas operations valued $32.86 billion as of the end of last year, up 1,338.7 percent from a year earlier. Their net worth grew 37.2 percent to $2.6 billion, while debt jumped by 659.5 percent to $30.26 billion.

As of the end of 2017, 15 Korean securities firms ran 63 outposts in 13 foreign countries with the bulk - 50 concentrated in Asia. They closed down three subsidiaries and two offices over the last year.

Korean brokerages are expanding their offshore business through capital increases and M&As to diversify their revenue sources, the FSS said.

By Jin Young-tae and Cho Jeehyun

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