Woori Financial Group said on the 24th that first-quarter net profit was 603.8 billion won (consolidation basis), down 2.1% from a year earlier. That is about 20% below the market consensus of about 815 billion won.
Core affiliate Woori Bank set aside a one-off provision of 100 billion won related to overseas subsidiaries, leading to slower growth. The group's credit loss expense also rose 20.9% on-year to 526.8 billion won.
A Woori Financial official said, "Because this is a temporary factor Kiin external conditions, performance will recover as market indicators stabilize."
Woori Financial's first-quarter interest income rose 2.3% to 2.3032 trillion won, and non-interest income increased 26.7% to 454.6 billion won. Among non-interest income, fee income reached a quarterly record high of 576.8 billion won.
The common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio for the first quarter was 13.6%, up about 70 basis points from 12.89% at the end of last year, achieving the mid- to long-term target of 13% ahead of schedule.
Woori Bank's first-quarter net profit fell 16.2% on-year to 531.2 billion won. In addition, Tongyang Life Insurance posted 25 billion won, Woori Card 43.9 billion won, Woori Financial Capital 39.8 billion won, and Woori Investment & Securities 14 billion won in net profit, respectively.
The bank's net interest margin (NIM) improved by 0.02 percentage point to 1.51% in the first quarter from 1.49% in the fourth quarter of last year. The group's ratio of substandard or worse loans rose by 0.05 percentage point to 0.68% at the end of the first quarter from 0.63% at the end of last year.
Woori Financial decided to proceed with a paid-in capital increase of about 1 trillion won for Woori Investment & Securities. It also decided to make Tongyang Life Insurance a wholly owned subsidiary through a comprehensive stock exchange. The first-quarter dividend was set at 220 won per share. That is up 10% from a year earlier. The dividend will be paid tax-free.
A Woori Financial official said, "Efforts to strengthen capital adequacy and diversify the revenue structure are translating into market trust," adding, "As earnings contributions from the nonbank segment begin in earnest, we plan to expand shareholder returns on that basis."