Local brokerage firms benefited from recent stock market rallies after a March plunge in 2020 as the companies’ profits jumped sharply, data showed Monday.

The combined operating profit of South Korea’s 20 local stock brokers, including Mirae Asset Daewoo and Korea Investment & Securities came in at 7.85 trillion won ($7.1 billion) last year, up 36.7 percent from 5.74 trillion won posted in the previous year, according to data compiled by state regulator Financial Supervisory Service.

Their combined net profits also soared by 25.1 percent on-year to reach 5.96 trillion won

Breaking down the figures, Mirae Asset Daewoo earned 1.1 trillion won in operating profit, becoming the first stock trading firm with operating income above the 1 trillion-won mark, while Kiwoom Securities made 954.9 billion won last year. They were followed by Meritz Securities, NH Investment & Securities and Korea Investment & Securities, which posted 827.9 billion won, 787.2 billion won, and 762 billion won, respectively.

Of the 20 securities firms, Hanwha Investment & Securities and Korea Investment & Securities were the only companies that saw their operating profit drop last year while Shinyoung Securities, Daishin Securities, Kiwoom Securities, and eBest Securities recorded more than a 100 percent increase in operating profit.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)