Western Securities' first annual report after acquiring Guorong Securities is out! What are the highlights?

How did West China Securities perform after the merger and acquisition?

Recently, West China Securities released its 2025 annual report, which is the firm’s first “scorecard” after it completed the acquisition of Guorong Securities. The data show that the company’s total asset size has, for the first time, entered the “trillion-yuan club.”

However, there has been no obvious improvement in profitability indicators. In 2025, West China Securities’ operating revenue fell 10.84% year over year; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company increased by nearly 25%. But this growth rate was weaker than that of many other midsize and small securities firms.

The annual report shows that the decline in West China Securities’ revenue is related to its bulk commodities trading business. A reporter from Securities Times China noted that the performance of its futures subsidiary was under clear pressure. Meanwhile, Guorong Securities also experienced a performance decline, which did not provide effective support for West China Securities’ profitability.

Because the two securities firms have not yet carried out any substantial integration at the business level, under the “presented by business category” approach, West China Securities’ five major traditional business segments—including wealth management, proprietary trading, investment banking, and others—have not been included in Guorong Securities; Guorong Securities has been categorized under the “subsidiaries and others” line. From the perspective of business structure, wealth management and proprietary investment remain West China Securities’ main revenue pillars, while investment-banking business recorded the largest growth.

Futures subsidiary drags down revenue

Recently, West China Securities released its 2025 annual report. The company’s operating revenue last year was RMB 5.99B, down 10.84% year over year, making it the only listed securities firm among those that had disclosed annual reports as of April 1 to show a revenue decline.

In this regard, West China Securities explained that this was mainly due to year-on-year decreases in revenue and costs from the bulk commodities trading business. The announcement shows that, affected by changes in industry policies and the decline in market interest rates, its wholly owned subsidiary, West China Futures, faced pressure on its performance, achieving operating revenue of RMB 1.06B, down significantly from RMB 2.63B in 2024—nearly a 60% decrease. Net profit was RMB 15.3353 million, down 38% from RMB 24.7886 million in the same period.

West China Futures said that in 2025, facing an unfavorable operating environment, the company adhered to the “profit-oriented” principle of work, strengthened the application of performance evaluation results, and eliminated low-efficiency business units.

From the industry-wide perspective, data from the China Association of the Securities Industry (formerly the China Futures Association) show that last year, futures companies nationwide cumulatively achieved operating revenue of RMB 42.02B, up 1.7%; cumulative net profit was RMB 11.0 billion, up about 16%. However, as a Securities Times China reporter understands, the “Matthew effect” is prominent in the industry, with large divergence; the investment gains of certain futures companies substantially boosted overall industry profitability.

If you exclude subsidiary factors and calculate according to the parent-company basis, West China Securities’ operating revenue in 2025 increased 11.97% year over year.

Guorong Securities’ performance declines, contribution is limited

For a long time, market attention has focused on West China Securities’ progress and performance after acquiring Guorong Securities; this annual report also reveals related data.

The annual report shows that after the acquisition, West China Securities’ asset size increased significantly. By the end of 2025, the company’s total assets were RMB 121.66B, up 26.78%, and its net assets broke through RMB 30 billion.

But there has not yet been an obvious improvement on the earnings side. In 2025, West China Securities’ net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company grew by nearly 25%, but it was weaker than many other midsize and small securities firms. As of April 1, more than 10 midsize and small securities firms had year-over-year increases in attributable net profit exceeding 30%.

The annual report shows that Guorong Securities’ 2025 performance declined. The company’s operating revenue was RMB 249 million, down sharply by 78% from RMB 1.12B in 2024; net profit was RMB 76.0604 million, down 11% from RMB 85.5290 million in 2024.

Looking further, the two controlling subsidiaries under Guorong Securities also did not perform well. In 2025, Chuangshi Futures’ operating revenue was only RMB 26.1024 million, and net profit was RMB 5.7098 million. The above figures in 2024 were RMB 128 million and RMB 21 million, respectively, indicating a clear decline in Chuangshi Futures’ performance.

In 2025, Guorong Fund’s operating revenue was RMB 3.3257 million, and net profit was RMB -3.4632 million. The above figures in 2024 were RMB 28 million and RMB -14 million, respectively.

Regarding future strategic targets, West China Securities said it will continue to advance merger-and-acquisition integration, adhering to the principles of “business stability, personnel stability, and sentiment stability,” and following the direction that “business synergy takes priority over formal integration, and capability integration matters more than scale stacking.” Through orderly integration and gradual convergence, the company aims to reduce friction costs to the greatest extent possible, ensure team stability, continuous business operations, and controllable risks; fully unlock Guorong Securities’ differentiated advantages in regional markets and characteristic businesses; and transform merger-and-acquisition integration from “scale stacking” to “capability leap,” releasing the synergy value of “1+1>2.”

On the IT systems front, West China Securities also mentioned advancing four tough tasks, including integration of Guorong’s IT system.

Wealth and investment banking growth is evident

Separating out the subsidiary’s performance, West China Securities’ own core business results are also noteworthy.

The proprietary investment segment is the company’s largest revenue source. In 2025, it recorded operating revenue of RMB 1.88B, down 8.89% year over year. In particular, the equity business focuses on high-dividend assets. It improves its OCI strategy of “trade building,” strengthens the construction of a target pool and positioning/build-up plans, increases the allocation share of configured portfolios related to those underlying assets, and achieves dual returns of “dividend + capital gains.”

Wealth management is the second revenue support pillar. In 2025, operating revenue was RMB 1.28B, up 30.77% year over year. Last year, the company opened more than 200,000 new accounts in total, up 72%. The number of institutional business clients increased steadily, and assets under management surpassed the RMB 100 billion mark, up 26%. In terms of product distribution and holdings, the publicly offered fund holdings increased 6.16% year over year; distribution income rose 28.26% year over year. The size of equity ETF products increased 24.42% year over year.

Investment banking is West China Securities’ segment with the largest revenue growth in 2025, with revenue size close to RMB 390 million, up sharply 42.09% year over year. In the equity business area, the company completed 1 listed company refinancing deal and 3 merger and restructuring projects. In the bond business area, the company was approved as a main underwriter in the interbank market, opening up new room for business growth. Throughout the year, it underwrote 174 bond issues, with an underwriting scale of RMB 63.563 billion, up 61.11% and 14.24% year over year, respectively; its market share remained the highest in the province.

Layout: Luo Xiaoxia

Proofreading: Liao Shengchao