Kabu Sees Solid Revenues in December, Reverses November Slump

Kabu, a Japanese retail broker, has disclosed its preliminary monthly performance figures for December 2018 this Thursday. The firm, which is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFJ), recorded an overall positive month, with the results mostly showing an uptick from November.

The month of November was a rather disappointing one for Kabu, as nearly all sectors experienced a decline, including net revenue, trading revenue, brokerage commissions and more. December’s volumes represent a welcomed turnaround for the firm.

In November of 2018, the Japanese retail broker reported that it had made revenue of ¥592 million from broker commission fees. Last month, this number increased to ¥599 million, representing an increase of ¥7 million or 1.2 percent month-on-month.

This increase was largely thanks to an uptick in revenue from futures and options trading during the month. Specifically, revenue generated from trading futures and options in December was ¥88 million. This is up by ¥13 million, or around 15 percent, when measured against the previous month.

However, this uptick in futures and options revenue was almost completely offset by a decline in equity credit. During December, equity credit was ¥209 million, which is ¥12 million or five percent less than that achieved in November.

Net operating revenue on Kabu climbs to ¥1.667 billion

Overall, net operating revenue recorded a significant monthly jump in December, climbing by nine percent or ¥154 million to reach ¥1.667 billion. This uptick partially reverses November’s decline, as net revenue during the month actually dropped by 14.37 percent or ¥254 million month-on-month.

Kabu also achieved healthy growth in revenues for acceptance fees. In December, revenues generated from acceptance fees was ¥837 million. When measured against November, which reported revenue of ¥717 million for acceptance fees, this is an increase of ¥120 million or about 14 percent.

Non-traditional revenue, which is the sum of revenues other than traditional revenue (API revenue, stock brokerage commissions excluding financial product brokerage and credit financial balance), also achieved a solid increase.

During the month of December, non-traditional revenue increased by 24.8 percent or ¥195 million to reach ¥787 million. November of 2018, again recorded a month-on-month drop for this segment of 20 percent.