South Korean securities companies were stingy with their donations in the first half of the year despite a jump in earnings, a market tracker said Thursday.

According to data from financial information provider FnGuide, 12 brokerage houses donated a combined 4.3 billion won ($3.8 million) to local charities in the January-June period, down 18 percent from a year ago.

In contrast, their combined net profit more than doubled to slightly over 1 trillion won over the cited period, driven by a bullish stock market.
 

The ratio of their donations to total net income thus decreased to 0.43 percent in the first half from 1.09 percent a year earlier.

Backed by massive foreign buying, the local bourse has been on a tear this year with the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) touching an all-time high of 2,451.53 on July 24.

The bull run helped local brokerage houses reap record earnings. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the combined net of 53 securities firms operating in South Korea came to 1.9 trillion won in the first half, the largest half-year amount since the first half of 2015.

Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities Co. was the top donor with 1.96 billion won in the first half, followed by Samsung Securities Co. with 654 million won and NH Investment & Securities Co. with 474 million won, the data showed. (Yonhap)