Seoul: Kiwoom Securities Co. on Wednesday reported its fourth-quarter net profit of 146.3 billion won (US$100.7 million), swinging from a loss of 189.2 billion won a year earlier. Operating income for the October-December period was 180.2 billion, compared with a loss of 277 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales rose 69.7 percent to 3.64 trillion won.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the earnings failed to meet market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 186.4 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.