Lehman deal adds to Nomura losses

Nomura's losses were bigger than analysts had forecast

Nomura has reported heavy losses for the final three months of 2008, as it struggles to integrate parts of failed US bank Lehman Brothers.

The broker made a net loss of 342.9bn yen ($3.8bn; �2.7bn) compared with a profit of 21.8bn yen a year ago.

Its decision to buy the Asian and European operations of collapsed US bank Lehman Brothers hit earnings hard.

"Last quarter was extraordinary for our industry and Nomura was no exception," said Nomura boss Keniche Watanabe.

Regrettable results

The results represent the fourth consecutive quarterly loss for the company, Japan's largest stockbroking firm.

Total revenue for the period collapsed to just 2.71bn yen, compared with 400.37bn yen for the final quarter of 2007.

RECENT FINANCIAL RESULTS

Fourth-quarter 2008 results

Citigroup: $8.3bn (�5.7bn) loss

Bank of America: $1.7bn loss

Deutsche Bank: Estimated $6.4bn loss (4.8bn euros; �4.4bn)

JP Morgan Chase: $702m profit

Nomura: $3.8bn loss (342.9bn yen, �2.7bn)

Merrill Lynch: $15.31bn loss

Morgan Stanley: $2.19bn loss

Source: Company statements

"This is a regrettable set of results," said Nomura's chief financial Masafumi Nakada.

The company was forced to absorb costs incurred by the Lehman deal at a time when the global financial crisis triggered big losses on its investments.

One-off losses for the quarter totalled 243bn yen, most of which went on Lehmans.

The broker also suffered from exposure to crisis-hit Iceland and Bernard Madoff's hedge fund that wiped billions off global investors' portfolios.

"The latest results highlight the fact that the balance of income and costs at Nomura in the current environment is not good and that it needs to cut costs," said Wataru Kasatani at Meiji Dresdner Asset Management.