China’s biggest brokers, including Citic Securitiesand Haitong Securities, have rushed out glowing interim results — fruits of the country’s year-long bull run — in a bid to stave off concerns over their financial strength as the rally unravelled.

中信证券(Citic Securities)、海通证券(Haitong Securities)等中国最大的几家券商纷纷提前发布亮丽的中期业绩，这是长达一年A股牛市的果实。随着牛市逆转，各券商急于化解外界对于其财务实力的担心。

Brokers began releasing headline revenue and profit numbers over the past fortnight, about a month before full numbers are due out, as their own share prices were ravaged amid a stock market rout.

过去两周券商开始发布整体收入和利润，比完整数字预定出炉的日期早了大约一个月。随着A股大盘暴跌，券商股票受损严重。

Shares in the bigger Hong Kong-listed brokers halved amid fears over the damage wrought by China’s recent market collapse and the role played by brokers.

在市场担心中国近期股市崩盘所造成的损害以及券商所起的作用，在香港上市的较大券商的股价已减半。

Most brokers’ shares have rebounded by a fifth since bottoming out this month. While that beats the 14 per cent recovery in the broader market, the sector fell harder and more heavily than others in the collapse.

自本月A股市场触底以来，多数券商股票已反弹五分之一，虽然跑赢了大盘14%的回升率，但在这轮崩盘中，券商板块比其他板块跌得更惨。

Several brokers, including Citic, Haitong, Huatai and GF Securities have also announced buybacks and share purchases by employees and big investors.

包括中信、海通、华泰证券(Huatai Securities)以及广发证券(GF Securities)在内的多家券商也纷纷宣布回购以及员工和大投资者购买股票的行为。

The sector’s shares peaked in late April as investors began fretting about the scale of China’s rally and the sector’s role in financing it through margin loans. Of the $20bn raised in equity by Hong Kong-listed mainland brokers this year — four times the amount raised in the previous four years combined — more than half was earmarked for fresh lending.

券商板块股票在4月下旬见顶，原因是投资者开始担心中国股市上涨幅度，以及券商通过保证金贷款在助燃涨势方面起到的作用。今年在港上市的内地券商募资200亿美元，是此前4年融资总和的四倍，其中一半以上募资所得被用于发放新贷款。

Official efforts to steady the markets during their slump this month included curbs on margin lending and a block on initial public offerings — denting key sources of broker income. Brokers were also forced to put a combined $19bn into a market stabilisation fund.

中国政府本月竭尽全力在A股暴跌时稳住市场，具体措施包括抑制保证金贷款和暂停首次公开发行(IPO)，从而削弱了券商收入的主要来源。券商还被迫贡献190亿美元资金建立一只平准基金。

“Right now investors are trying to reassess what this means for the brokers and it isn’t clear,” said Richard Xu, China financials analyst at Morgan Stanley, adding that views were polarised between weighing the cost of intervention against the benefits of calmer markets.

摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)中国金融业分析师徐然(Richard Xu)表示：“投资者现在正试图重新评估这对券商的影响，目前尚不明朗。”他还说，对于干预市场的代价与较平静市场之间的得失，各方的观点两极分化。

“It comes down to balance sheet risk and having more stable markets will also protect them in that respect.”

“这归根结底在于资产负债表风险，就此而言更稳定的市场也会保护他们。”

China’s listed securities companies netted Rmb80.8bn ($13bn) in first-half profits — a 337 per cent surge, according to unaudited figures from the Securities Association of China.

根据中国证券业协会(Securities Association of China)未经审计的数字，今年上半年中国上市证券公司实现808亿元人民币（约合130亿美元）利润，比去年暴涨337%。

GF Securities, which floated in Hong Kong in April with a 30 per cent pop on its debut, reported a fivefold rise in net profits.

广发证券报告净利润上升5倍，今年4月它在香港上市首日股价飙升30%。

Huatai Securities, which floated in May near the peak of the market, will report headline figures on Tuesday. Its shares have rallied a quarter from their nadir but remain a quarter below their debut price, leaving cornerstone investors such as Tencent and Sequoia Capital heavily in the red. Cornerstones accept six-month lock-ups in return for guaranteed share allocation.

华泰证券将于周二发布整体数字，其在5月市场快要见顶时上市。该公司股价已从谷底反弹了四分之一，但仍比发行价低四分之一，令腾讯(Tencent)和红杉资本(Sequoia Capital)等基石投资者蒙受惨重账目亏损。基石投资者接受为期半年的禁售期，以换取保证的股票分配额度。

The booming markets had provided brokers with a respite from the pressures of falling commissions, which have slipped from 0.082 per cent in 2013 to 0.062 per cent in the first quarter of this year, according to FT Confidential research. Rising competition from online brokers, and rules allowing investors to open more than one account, have added to the pressure.

牛市也减缓了券商佣金下降的压力，根据《金融时报》“投资参考”(FT Confidential Research)的数据，中国券商佣金从2013年的0.082%下滑至今年一季度的0.062%。在线券商的竞争加剧，再加上允许投资者开设多个账户，都增加了券商的压力。