Seoul: Woori Financial Group Inc. announced on Wednesday a significant 37.6 percent increase in its third-quarter net profit compared to the same period last year, primarily driven by a one-off factor. The financial group reported a net profit of 1.24 trillion won (US$866 million) for the July-September quarter, a substantial rise from the 904.3 billion won recorded a year earlier, as detailed in their regulatory filing.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this quarterly performance also marked a 33 percent increase from the second quarter. Despite the impressive net profit, Woori Financial's operating profit declined by 16.1 percent year-on-year, standing at 987.7 billion won for the third quarter. Nonetheless, the earnings surpassed market expectations, with analysts estimating an average net profit of 990.8 billion won, based on a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data division of Yonhap News Agency.
The group attributed the notable net profit rise to the strategic acquisition of its insurance unit, among other contributing factors. A company official stated, "By incorporating an insurance subsidiary while minimizing the impact on our capital ratio, we have completed our transition into a comprehensive financial group. This will help strengthen our non-banking competitiveness and enhance synergy across the group."
Woori Financial Group's return on equity (ROE) improved to 10.87 percent, increasing by 1.74 percentage points from the previous quarter. For the January-September period, the group's cumulative net profit reached an all-time high of 2.79 trillion won, up 5.1 percent from the previous year. During the same period, cumulative interest income grew by 1.8 percent to 6.73 trillion won, while non-interest income rose by 4.6 percent to 1.44 trillion won, as reported by the group.