Nomura Holdings on Thursday reported a 35% on-year drop in net profit in the January-March period, but still managed to eke out a profit for the eighth consecutive quarter, despite market instability following the massive earthquake.

Japan's largest securities firm by revenue posted a net profit of ¥11.90bn ($145.1m) for the fiscal fourth quarter, compared with a net profit of ¥18.43bn in the same period a year earlier.