China's CITIC Securities Q1 profit falls on lower fee, broker income

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) -CITIC Securities Co, China's biggest brokerage, reported on Friday that first-quarter net profit fell 8.5%, hit by the sluggish investment banking environment.

Net profit fell to 4.96 billion yuan ($684.5 million) in the three months to March 31, compared with 5.42 billion yuan in the same period last year, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

Investment banking fee income fell 56% to 869 million yuan.

CITIC and its Chinese and global peers have faced a challenging market environment that has weighed on dealmaking and trading revenue.

CITIC's brokerage business saw revenue fall 5.8% to 2.44 billion yuan. Investment revenue fell 60.8% to 2.3 billion yuan, which CITIC said was a result of decreasing income from the disposal of financial assets.

Regulators have ramped up efforts to revive investor confidence following a stock market rout early this year, pressured by a slowing domestic economy and capital outflows.

CITIC shares in Hong Kong closed up 6.76% on Friday at HK$12.32 prior to the results being announced, compared with a 2.12% rise in the broader market

($1 = 7.2465 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Ziyi Tang and Engen Tham; Editing by David Goodman and Jacqueline Wong)