Japanese broker Nomura reports unexpected quarterly loss after announcing hundreds of job losses in Europe
Japanese broker Nomura has reported an unexpected quarterly loss, its first since 2011, as market conditions "deteriorated considerably".
The figures
The firm's net revenue for its fourth quarter, ending March 2016, was ¥280.1bn (£1.72bn), down 36 per cent year on year.
It also reported a net loss for the period of ¥19.2bn. Analysts had expected Nomura to report net income of ¥23.4bn, according to Bloomberg.
Read more: Nomura set to announce hundreds of London job losses
Over the full year, Nomura's net revenue was down 13 per cent and net income fell by 41 per cent to ¥131.6bn.
Earnings per share (EPS) for the year totalled ¥35.52, down 41 per cent.
Why it's interesting
The results have been released shortly after Nomura announced plans to cut hundreds of jobs across the UK and Europe.
A statement from the company earlier this month said: "Nomura will close certain businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)."
The firm confirmed the process would result in around 750 jobs being lost as part of a large withdrawal from its European equity divisions. Equity research, underwriting and derivatives departments are all affected.
Nomura reported revenue across the EMEA region of ¥23.7bn, down 64 per cent year on year.
What the company said
Chief executive Koji Nagai:
Market conditions deteriorated considerably in the fourth quarter, resulting in sluggish client activity. This led to lower net revenue in all of our business segments compared to the last quarter. Although we reduced costs to deal with the changing market environment, we reported a net loss partly due to a decrease in the value of investments on the back of a decline in stock prices…
Based on the recently announced changes to our business strategy in EMEA and the Americas, we will focus our management resources on areas where we have competitive advantage. This will enable us to build a solid foundation that remains profitable even in challenging market conditions.
We will continue to respond swiftly to changes in client needs and the market, and transform our business model to reinforce our position as Asia’s global investment bank.