Nomura Holdings Inc., which has lost money for four straight quarters overseas, may face added pressure to boost profit as the country's worst postwar disaster weighs on operations at home.
Net income fell 35 percent to ¥11.9 billion in the three months ended March 31, Japan's biggest brokerage said Thursday. The company posted a pretax loss of ¥9.7 billion from its operations abroad.
Like rival Daiwa Securities Group Inc., Nomura gets most of its revenue from Japan, where companies cut production at a record pace following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. An economic slump will curb demand for underwriting and takeover advisory services, clouding Nomura's prospects at home as it struggles to make a profit overseas, said analyst Shiro Yoshioka.
"It's difficult to foresee Nomura's business outlook after this huge quake," said Japaninvest Group PLC's Yoshioka in Tokyo. "The competition won't allow Nomura to be a top global firm easily."
Chief Executive Officer Kenichi Watanabe, who oversaw Nomura's purchase of Lehman Brothers' European and Asian businesses in 2008, told investors last week that the expansion picture he initially projected hasn't materialized.