SEOUL: Woori Financial Group reported a slight decline in its third-quarter net income on Friday, despite a decrease in interest rates, attributing its robust financial performance to a diversification of its profit structure. The South Korean financial services provider posted a net profit of 916.2 billion won (US$659.6 million) for the July-September period, compared to 918.1 billion won a year earlier.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the company’s operating profit saw a 3.5 percent decline year-on-year, amounting to 1.17 trillion won, while sales dropped 24.8 percent to 7.44 trillion won. Despite these decreases, Woori Financial’s earnings surpassed market expectations, as analysts had predicted a net profit of 874.5 billion won, based on a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data arm of Yonhap News Agency.
For the first nine months of the year, Woori Financial’s cumulative net profit increased by 9.1 percent year-on-year, reaching 2.66 trillion won. In the same period, the company’s operating profi
t improved by 6.6 percent to 7.99 trillion won. The company attributed this better-than-expected performance to a rise in commission income from both its banking and nonbanking operations, driven by efforts to diversify income streams.
Interest income for the January-September period edged up 0.2 percent year-on-year to 6.6 trillion won, despite a reduced key interest rate in South Korea, owing to an expanded loan portfolio. Meanwhile, noninterest income surged 53.1 percent to 1.28 trillion won during the same period.
An official at Woori Financial stated that the company aims to continue delivering stable performance and will actively address global uncertainties, including geopolitical risks and the upcoming U.S. presidential election, to meet heightened market expectations.