Kbank showed a meaningful, steep growth in results in the first quarterly report it has released since listing on the KOSPI.
On the 30th, Kbank said net income for the first quarter of this year was 33.2 billion won, more than doubling (106.8%) from the same period a year earlier. The company said its strategy to expand loans to business owners centered on sole proprietors paid off, achieving asset growth and improved profitability at the same time.
Kbank recorded weak results in the first quarter of last year, with net income dropping 68.2% year over year to 16.1 billion won. This year's first-quarter results for Kbank appear to have jumped sharply due to a base effect from the steep decline in net income in the first quarter of last year.
Profitability indicators also improved. Net interest income was 125.2 billion won, up 15.4% from 108.5 billion won a year earlier. Thanks to loan asset growth and an improved funding structure, the net interest margin (NIM) expanded to 1.57% from 1.41%.
Non-interest income was 14.2 billion won, up about 4% year over year, supported by increased check card revenue and growth in revenue from relay loans and the advertising platform.
Asset quality also showed improvement. Credit loss expenses were 50.1 billion won in the first quarter, down 7.6% from 53.9 billion won a year earlier, and the credit cost ratio fell to 1.09% from 1.31%. The arrears rate stabilized to 0.61% at the end of the first quarter this year from 0.66% at the end of the first quarter last year, and the ratio of substandard-and-below loans also stabilized to 0.58% from 0.61% over the same period. The BIS ratio was 21.47%.
Choi Woo-hyeong, Kbank's chief executive, said, "We will further sophisticate our corporate finance portfolio and secure competitiveness in the global digital asset market, including stablecoins, to continue differentiated innovation."