Daiwa Securities Group Inc., Japan's second-largest brokerage, reported a second-straight quarterly loss as underwriting fees and trading profit slumped.
The first-quarter loss of $13.7 million compares with net income of $2.05 billion a year earlier and a loss of $322 million in the three months through March, Tokyo-based Daiwa said Tuesday.
The quarterly loss was less than the $54 million average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Chief Executive Officer Shigeharu Suzuki is seeking more overseas revenue amid a downturn in investment banking and a 63% slump in Japanese equity underwriting deals last quarter.
He is also looking to fill a gap left by the breakup of a 10-year-old investment banking venture with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. in December.
"Recovery in Daiwa's investment banking business has been delayed since it dissolved the joint venture," said Tatsuo Majima, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Financial Group Inc. in Tokyo. "The loss can't just be put down to market conditions."
