By now, CITIC Securities, HTSC, China Merchants Securities, Everbright Securities, Soochow Securities, and Caissa Securities have held the 2024 third-quarter earnings conference.

Securities Times reporters noticed that many investors inquired about the financial aspects related to the third-quarter reports, and most brokerages responded promptly. It is worth noting that in response to investors' concerns about the securities industry M&A topics, two leading brokerages also responded. The executive of China Merchants Securities stated that M&A restructuring is an important means to achieve growth and strength. M&A restructuring can expand capital, integrate client resources, accelerate the ability to enhance service development in line with the goal of building a strong financial country, and will continue to track and research industry M&A restructuring opportunities.

Directly addressing sensitive issues in financial reports.

At the Soochow Securities third-quarter earnings conference, investors inquired about the decline in the company's investment banking business revenue compared to last year and asked about the expansion of the investment banking business and any follow-up measures.

Chairman Fan Li of Soochow Securities stated that the company's investment banking business experienced a certain degree of decline this year due to the temporary slowdown in the capital market's equity financing pace compared to last year. So far this year, the company has completed 6 projects including IPOs, refinancing, and M&A restructuring, with the first major asset restructuring project on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Main Board and the first major overseas asset restructuring project on the North Stock Exchange. They have also added 4 new projects to the North Stock Exchange, ranking second in the industry.

Regarding the future, Fan Li mentioned that the company's investment banking business will resolutely implement regulatory requirements, strictly fulfill professional oversight and continuous supervisory responsibilities, prioritize quality, continuously strengthen the pipeline of high-quality IPOs and refinancing projects, fully leverage the advantages of the North Stock Exchange long board business, actively develop M&A restructuring business, improve the quality of listed companies, and support the cultivation and development of new quality production forces.

During the related earnings conference of Everbright Securities, investors mentioned that despite the 41.06% year-on-year growth in revenue in the third quarter of 2024, the net income attributable to mother declined by 69.49% year-on-year. What is the main reason for this significant difference?

Guangda Securities Vice President and Board Secretary Zhu Qin stated that due to the signing of the settlement agreement by Guangda Capital, a subsidiary last year, the reversal of expected liabilities formed non-recurring gains and losses of 2.15 billion yuan, accounting for 49% of the net income attributable to the parent company in the same period last year. The company's net income attributable to the parent company excluding non-recurring gains and losses increased year-on-year.

For Huatai Securities, investors in the earnings conference asked whether the sale of AssetMark in the third quarter of this year implies a certain adjustment in the company's overseas expansion strategy.

Huatai Securities CFO Jiao Xiaoning stated that Huatai Securities will continue to firmly promote its internationalization strategy, continuously enhance the breadth and depth of integration into global mainstream markets, deeply cultivate cross-border integration, and solidify its foundation to create a first-class investment bank with both local advantages and global influence. In addition to relying on the Hong Kong market, the company is also steadily expanding into other overseas markets, focusing on establishing Singapore as a regional center to cover emerging economies in Southeast Asia, providing overseas investors with products and services with Chinese characteristics, continuously enhancing market competitiveness and industry status. At the same time, Huatai Securities will focus on the needs of internal and external clients, seize market opportunities, actively expand development opportunities in key business areas in emerging and mature markets.

China Merchants Securities' earnings conference was asked about the company's third quarter report for 2024, showing investment income of 5.056 billion yuan and high management fees of up to 6.755 billion yuan. What are the top 5 projects in investment income ranked by China Merchants Securities? In response, China Merchants Securities President Wu Zongmin stated that in the first three quarters of 2024, the company continued to implement the 'big and steady' investment strategy, strengthened large category asset allocation, coordinated investment business resource allocation from top to bottom, investment decision-making, and risk management, adjusted and optimized investment structure in a timely manner according to market changes, continuously improved business strategies, effectively enhanced investment income and revenue stability.

Response to the securities industry merger wave

Since the beginning of this year, there has been a surge in mergers and acquisitions in the securities industry, with examples such as Guosen Securities acquiring Wanhe Securities, Guotai Junan merging with Haitong Securities, and Western Securities acquiring Guorong Securities. The topic of securities industry mergers and acquisitions has attracted the attention of investors.

An investor at Huatai Securities asked about the specific plans for nurturing a first-class investment bank in the next step, such as industry consolidation and restructuring.

Huatai Securities Executive Director and CEO Zhou Yi stated that Huatai Securities is firmly deepening the 'dual-wheel drive' strategy of wealth management and institutional services under the empowerment of technology, always based on customer needs, continuously promoting organizational upgrades of 'one customer' internally, 'one Huatai' externally, and integrated operation internally and externally, focusing on building a platform-based, integrated, ecological full-service system, enhancing core competitiveness through high-quality development, and steadfastly advancing towards a first-class investment bank.

When asked about brokerage mergers and acquisitions, the President of China Merchants Securities, Wu Zongmin, stated that mergers and acquisitions are an important means to achieve growth and strength. Through mergers and acquisitions, capital expansion and customer resource integration can be achieved, accelerating the ability to achieve the goal of building a strong financial country. The company will continue to track and research industry mergers and acquisitions opportunities. Currently, the company has no undisclosed information to disclose.

Looking ahead to the performance in the fourth quarter.

The third quarter performance has come to a close, and investors are showing more concern for the performance in the fourth quarter and the whole year.

Investors inquired about the situation of new account openings at China Merchants Securities since the market started on September 24th and which business sectors benefited significantly. What are the expectations for the fourth quarter and the whole year's performance?

President of China Merchants Securities, Wu Zongmin, stated that influenced by market trends, the number of new account openings in October increased several times compared to September. The recent A-share market has seen a significant increase in trading volume compared to September; the recent increase in market activity has a positive impact on the company's brokerage business and will continuously enhance the comprehensive competitiveness of the brokerage business to drive long-term high-quality business development.

Regarding the 2024 full-year performance outlook, the head of the accounting institution at CITIC Securities, Xi Zhiying, stated that since the beginning of the year, CITIC Securities has been actively serving the real economy development and the enhancement of capital market functions, with steady development across all business sectors. In the first three quarters, operating income and net income have steadily increased. Looking at the whole year, the company will aim to build a first-class investment bank, continue to expand the customer market, actively enhance the comprehensive business competitiveness, strive to maintain steady operational performance, and contribute to the construction of a strong financial country.

Chairman and General Manager of Caida Securities, Zhang Ming, stated that since late September, with the implementation of various market policy measures to boost the market, medium and long-term funds entering the capital market, trading activity in the securities market has been active, and market sentiment has significantly improved. The company will seize the opportunities brought by favorable policies, adhere to the targets and reforms set at the beginning of the year, proactively seize opportunities, enhance the vitality and driving force of market-oriented reforms, strengthen compliance risk management to improve quality and efficiency, comprehensively promote various deepening works of company reforms, transformation, and upgrade.

Regarding the performance outlook for the fourth quarter, Chairman of Soochow Securities, Fan Li, stated that in the fourth quarter, the company will closely follow the policy direction, seize market opportunities, fully leverage the advantages of the BSE main board, actively deploy mergers and acquisitions and reorganization business, steadily promote investment banking business, enhance the ability to serve the real economy. Deepen the transformation of wealth management, continue to expand the scale of asset management, provide higher quality services for customer wealth preservation and appreciation. Thoroughly analyze the market situation, strengthen investment research capability, strive to achieve stable returns in investment trading business. The company will spare no effort to advance all operational and management work, consolidate a stable and good operational situation, and create greater value for investors.

Editor/Lambor