The amount of net profit reaped by the nation’s securities companies in the first quarter came close to three trillion won. 

According to the Financial Supervisory Service(FSS) on Thursday, the net profit of 57 securities firms for the January-March period reached a quarterly record of some two-point-99 trillion won. 

The figure is up more than 113 percent from the previous quarter and 38-point-six percent higher than the previous high of two-point-15 trillion won posted in the third quarter of last year. 

The agency also said the securities companies’ return on equity surged three-and-a-half percentage points on-year to stand at four-point-four percent in the first quarter. 

The agency said securities firms continued to see their net profit rise from last year thanks to the bullish stock market.