Major South Korean financial holding firm Woori Financial Group Inc. said Monday its net profit rose 8.6 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier thanks largely to higher interest income and cost-cutting efforts.
Net profit for the three months ended in March rose to 911.3 billion won (US$682.6 million) from 839.2 billion won during the same period of last year, the financial group said in a statement.
Woori Financial Group attributed the increased net profit to cost-cutting efforts and a rise in interest income amid South Korea’s monetary tightening to curb inflation.
The Bank of Korea raised the country’s key interest rate seven straight times from 1.25 percent to 3.5 percent until it froze the rate in February.
Woori Financial Group said its net interest margin, or the difference between interest paid and interest received, stood at 1.94 percent in the first quarter, up from 1.73 percent a year earlier.
Woori Financial said its non-interest income shrank 13.4 percent on-year to 331.7 billion won in the first quarter due to the won’s weakness against the U.S. dollar over a global liquidity crisis.
Flagship Woori Bank registered a net profit of 859.5 billion won in the first quarter from 716.4 billion won from a year earlier.
Source: Yonhap News Agency