Seoul: Kiwoom Securities Co. on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter net profit of 246.9 billion won (US$170.4 million), which signifies an increase of 68.8 percent compared to the same period last year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the company's regulatory filing highlighted that the operating income for the October-December timeframe surged by 91.7 percent year-on-year to reach 345.6 billion won. Additionally, revenue for the quarter climbed 53.4 percent, totaling 5.58 trillion won.

Despite these impressive earnings figures, the results did not meet the market's expectations. Analysts surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data division of Yonhap News Agency, had projected a higher average net profit estimate of 287 billion won.