SEOUL– Woori Financial Group Inc., a major South Korean banking group, on Friday reported a record first-half net profit as its interest income rose after the central bank’s rate hikes.
Consolidated net profit came to 1.86 trillion won (US$1.42 billion) in the January-June period, up 20.9 percent from a year ago, the group said in a regulatory filing.
Operating income rose 22.6 percent on-year to 2.43 trillion won and revenue jumped 73.32 percent to 22.7 trillion won over the cited period.
In the second quarter, Woori Financial’s net profit came to a record 922 billion won, up 22.4 percent from a year earlier, the bank data showed.
Woori Financial attributed the stellar performance to increased interest income and solid performance of its subsidiaries.
The earnings hike came in the wake of the Bank of Korea’s rate hikes. The BOK’s benchmark seven-day repo rates rose to 2.25 percent in July, sharply up from 0.5 percent a year ago.
Among Woori Financial’s key subsidiaries, Woori Bank saw its net profit increase by 21.6 percent on-year to 1.55 trillion won.
Source: Yonhap News Agency