Online brokerages' earnings surged in fiscal 2003 due to active trading by individual investors during the recent stock market rally.

The firms expect their strong performance to continue in the current fiscal year, saying they are seeing active trading this month.

Matsui Securities Co. said Thursday its net profit for fiscal 2003 rose nearly five-fold to a record 7.28 billion yen, with net revenue up 95 percent to 23.74 billion yen.

"Simply put, the trading volume grew 2.5 times, and brokerage commission revenue doubled along with that," Michio Matsui, chief executive of Matsui Securities, told a news conference.

Matsui's brokerage commission revenue during the year increased 99 percent to 18.93 billion yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 average finished the fiscal year 47 percent higher at 11,715.39, with individual investors flocking back to markets.

The results were more dramatic for Monex Inc., which reported its first-ever full-year profit since it started its business in 1999. It posted a net profit of 2.22 billion yen after a net loss of 2.05 billion yen a year earlier.

During the period, revenue form brokerage fees jumped 2.4-fold to 5.66 billion yen.

Monex, 30 percent owned by Sony Corp., also benefited from a rise in the underwriting of initial public offerings during the year, including Shinsei Bank's.

Oki Matsumoto, Monex chief executive, said this round of the market rally is likely to be more sustainable than that seen during the information technology bubble.

"In my personal opinion, I think the market's strong performance will continue for the next two years," he said.

The optimistic outlook was echoed by Matsui Securities' Matusi, who said the spread of online trading has changed investors' behavior. The ease of placing an order and low commissions make them active traders, he said.