Japanese brokerage house Monex Group has reduced the headcount of its U.S. centered TradeStation unit. Responding to declining trading volumes in the U.S. market, Monex has cut about 100 employees in its U.S. offices. The firm reduced the total headcount by 40 in April 2016 and added another 60 people yesterday, on July 27th, 2016.

After a relatively challenging quarter, Monex Group reported a decline in net profits to ¥261 million ($2.5 million), which is lower by 78 per cent YoY. The result was marked on a total of ¥10.6 billion ($101 million), a number which has declined 17.9 per cent YoY. Both figures are the lowest quarterly results for Monex since the first quarter of fiscal 2015, which was between the 1st of April and the 30th of June 2014.

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During the past couple of months, Monex has launched the TradeStation trading platform in Japan. According to the firm, the feedback from clients has been positive, opening the doors for the company to acquire a new client base.

Japan, US and China Mark Declines

Despite the launch of the new trading platform, the decline in commissions from the Japanese unit of the company has not been arrested. The lower trading volumes which in part are due to the material decline in Japanese shares in recent months has led to a result which is 7 per cent lower.

Looking at the U.S. segment, revenues from commissions declined by 5 per cent. Monex Group booked a ¥398 million loss, when compared to a net loss of ¥271 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, which ended on March 31st 2016.

The company recorded a one time expense of ¥145 million ($1.38 million) on the sale of its foreign exchange business in the U.S. to OANDA.

Looking at the Chinese revenues of Monex, the company booked a net loss of ¥11 million, which is higher than the ¥5 million, which the brokerage reported last quarter.

Revenues from commissions for the stock brokerage decreased by 13 per cent, which has been attributed to the declining activity on the Hong Kong stock market. The company’s net financial income increased by 10 per cent (in HKD terms) due to an increase in margin lending transactions.