Woori Financial Group Reports Record High Net Profit of 3.1693 Trillion KRW Last Year

Interest Income Increase Through Corporate Loan Growth
Asset Soundness Management Including Non-Performing Loans
Plans to Actively Promote Shareholder Dividends Mentioned

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunji Kwon] Woori Financial Group recorded an annual net profit of 3.1693 trillion KRW last year, achieving its highest-ever performance. The increase in interest income through expanded corporate loans and growth in the non-bank sector were key factors.

Woori Financial announced on the 8th that it recorded a net profit of 3.1693 trillion KRW last year. This represents a 22.5% increase compared to the previous year (2.5879 trillion KRW), marking the largest scale in history.

The net operating income, combining interest income and non-interest income, was 9.8457 trillion KRW, an 18.0% increase from the previous year (8.344 trillion KRW). In particular, interest income rose to 8.6966 trillion KRW, driving last year's earnings, influenced by increased interest income centered on corporate loans. On the other hand, non-interest income decreased by 15.4% from the previous year to 1.1491 trillion KRW. Although fee income increased by 16.2% year-on-year due to strong performances from subsidiaries such as card, trust, and capital businesses, securities-related income declined due to rising market interest rates.

The annual cumulative net interest margin (NIM) last year was 1.84%, up 0.22 percentage points from the previous year's cumulative NIM of 1.62%. As of the fourth quarter of last year, it was 1.92%, an increase of 0.06 percentage points from the previous quarter (1.86%).

Despite worsening domestic and international conditions such as rising interest rates last year, asset soundness indicators were managed stably. The non-performing loan ratio (NPL), which indicates the proportion of loans with collection issues among total bank loans, was 0.31%, showing little difference compared to the previous year (0.30%). However, the delinquency rate, which had been around 0.21% to 0.22% since the fourth quarter of 2021, slightly rose to 0.26% in the fourth quarter of last year.

Selling and administrative expenses, costs used for corporate management and maintenance, amounted to 4.535 trillion KRW, a 9.3% increase from the previous year (4.147 trillion KRW). However, through streamlining sales channels, the selling and administrative expense ratio decreased by 3.1 percentage points from 47.5% last year to 44.4%. Last year, bad debt expenses increased to 848 billion KRW, with a bad debt expense ratio of 0.25% (annual cumulative), higher than the previous year.

Woori Financial explained, "Despite the challenging business environment both domestically and internationally, we recorded strong performance based on steady growth in core profits, proactive cost management, and the expansion effect of the non-bank sector."

Last year, Woori Financial's dividend payout ratio was 26.0%, and the dividend yield was 8.8%. It announced a dividend of 1,130 KRW per share (combining an interim dividend of 150 KRW and a year-end dividend of 980 KRW).

It also announced a shareholder return policy considering the total shareholder return ratio. To prepare for changes in the financial environment, it plans to improve the current common equity tier 1 capital ratio to 12% early and achieve an annual total shareholder return ratio of around 30%, including share buybacks and cancellations during the process. It also revealed plans to introduce quarterly dividends and actively pursue shareholder return policies.

A Woori Financial official stated, "While continuing efforts to improve profitability this year, we will also focus on risk management to respond to financial market uncertainties, expand financial consumer protection and rights enhancement, and actively carry out various social contribution activities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.