Nomura Holdings posted a sharp net profit gain in the October-December period with all three of its business segments reporting higher revenue and all its regions in the black.

Japan's largest securities house, which has embarked on a $1bn cost-cutting plan at its wholesale business through the fiscal year ending March 2014, racked up a ¥20.1bn ($220.8m) net profit in the three-month period compared with a ¥2.81bn net profit in the July-September quarter. In the same period a year earlier, Nomura posted a ¥17.82bn net profit.