A Tokyo-based securities house that posted first-half operating revenue of just 10 billion yen happens to be one of the nation's strongest brokerages, as its profit margin was 50 percent.

Matsui Securities Co.'s nearly 5 billion yen profit reflects a margin much higher than those of the nation's major securities houses.

Nomura Securities Co., the biggest, posted a group pretax profit of 159 billion yen, about 28 percent of its 573 billion yen revenue for the fiscal 2003 first half.