Leading brokerages have all started off strong! CSC and CICC's net profit in the first quarter increased by over 50%

On the evening of April 10th, CSC and CICC issued "good news"!

CSC expects that in the first quarter of 2025, the net profit attributable to the parent company's shareholders will be approximately RMB 1.843 billion, a year-on-year increase of about 50%.

CICC released a performance forecast: it is expected that in the first quarter of 2025, the net profit attributable to the parent company's shareholders will be between RMB 1.858 billion and RMB 2.106 billion, a year-on-year increase of 50% to 70%.

Although the net profit figures of the two institutions are not as high as "brokerage king" CITIC Securities, the year-on-year growth rate of net profit in the first quarter is quite impressive.

China's large listed brokerage firms welcomed a "good start" in 2025.

Investment Business Becomes a "Catalyst"

For the 50% year-on-year increase in net profit, CSC attributes its outstanding performance to "significant increases in brokerage and proprietary business income."

CICC disclosed the reasons for growth in its announcement: wealth management, stock business, and other business lines all achieved substantial growth.

The aforementioned performance "catalysts" are related to the rising enthusiasm in the capital market in the first quarter of this year, such as the technology boom driven by DeepSeek and the warming fundamentals of many listed companies boosting investor sentiment.

In fact, influenced by the profit-making effect of the capital market, CSC's "strong suit" proprietary investment and CICC's wealth management business for clients both reflect market changes and are reflected in the first-quarter performance.

Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement + Technology Support

Zhitang noticed that both CSC and CICC provided a key point in their announcements regarding the reasons for the performance increase: continuous promotion of cost reduction and efficiency improvement.

For example, CICC's 2024 annual report disclosed that the total number of employees was 14,650, a decrease of 677 from the end of 2023.

CSC stated to Zhitang that the performance in the first quarter of 2025 is due to actively seizing market opportunities, promoting the transformation and upgrading of wealth management business, accelerating and improving international strategies, and achieving cost reduction and efficiency improvement through technology empowerment.

Brokerages Expect Good News in the First Quarter

CITIC Securities announced that it expects to achieve a net profit attributable to the parent company's shareholders of approximately RMB 6.545 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a year-on-year increase of about 32%.

Guotai Junan Securities announced that it expects to achieve a net profit attributable to the parent company's owners of RMB 11.201 billion to RMB 12.445 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 350% to 400%.

Industrial Securities announced that it expects to achieve a net profit attributable to the listed company's shareholders of RMB 516 million in the first quarter of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 57.32%.

China Galaxy announced that it expects a net profit attributable to the parent company of RMB 2.773 billion to RMB 3.1 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 70% to 90%.

Huatai Securities announced that it expects to achieve a net profit attributable to the parent company of RMB 3.437 billion to RMB 3.666 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 50% to 60%.

Hua'an Securities announced that it expects a net profit attributable to the parent company of RMB 502 million to RMB 558 million in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 80% to 100% The aforementioned brokerages attributed their performance to the revenue growth in wealth management, investment trading, and brokerage business lines