The cause? Falling trading volumes in July-August-September at the Japanese forex broker.
Monex Group of Japan (TYO:8698), a mid-size Japanese forex broker which also owns TradeStation and IBFX in the US, reported Q2-2014 results today (Monex’s fiscal year ends March 31) which, as expected, showed a sharp drop in both revenues and profits.
In the quarter ended September 30, 2013, Monex revenues fell 27% from the June quarter to total ¥12.3 billion (about $125 million), while net income fell by 70% from the previous quarter to ¥1.55 billion ($16 million).
As we stated above, for those who follow LeapRate the tepid Monex September quarter results should not be surprising. After Monex reported record trading volumes in April, followed by strong May and June metrics, forex trading volumes slowed significantly over the summer as volatility waned in the Yen. For comparison, Monex did about $54 billion in volume in April, versus just $26 billion in September.
For the complete Monex Group press release on Q2 results click here (pdf).
For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.