Daiwa Securities Group realised a first quarter profit of JPY2.68bn (US$34m) following strong retail structured product sales and savings from staff cuts.
The provider realised a loss of JPY9.43bn ($62.8m) in the first half of 2011 and has since retreated from markets outside Japan, resulting in a number of staff cuts and high profile departures including Jimmy Kan, former global head of derivatives structuring and David Sarkis, global head of equity derivatives trading.
The company also merged its Daiwa Securities and Daiwa Securities Capital Markets operations in April, helping boost revenues from the group's retail structured products section.
According to a statement issued at a news conference by Nobuyuki Iwamoto, Daiwa COO and CFO, the merging of the group's retail team with its wholesale division has pushed up sales up for structured products.