Woori Financial Group Reports Q1 Net Profit of 911.3 Billion KRW, Up 8.6% Year-on-Year

721 Billion Increase Compared to Q1 Last Year
Interest Income Rose but Net Interest Margin Declined
Loan Loss Provisions Increased Due to Rising Delinquency Rate

Woori Financial Group announced on the 24th that it recorded a net profit of 911.3 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year. This represents an increase of approximately 72.1 billion KRW compared to the same period last year (839.2 billion KRW), due to a continued rise in interest income despite an increase in credit loss expenses in the non-bank sector during the first quarter.

The net operating income, which combines interest income and non-interest income, reached 2.5505 trillion KRW in the first quarter, up 7.6% from 2.3707 trillion KRW in the same period last year. Although Woori Bank's net interest margin (NIM) declined, interest income slightly increased due to loan growth centered on corporate loans and the base effect from the rise in the benchmark interest rate.

Non-interest income decreased by 13.4%, from 383 billion KRW in the first quarter of last year to 331.7 billion KRW this year, influenced by factors such as exchange rate increases caused by global liquidity risks. Fee income rose by 3.1% compared to the same period last year (406 billion KRW), driven by strong performance in the investment banking (IB) sector due to enhanced corporate investment banking (CIB) capabilities.

Woori Financial's selling and administrative expenses for the first quarter amounted to 1.037 trillion KRW, a 6.2% increase from 976.1 billion KRW in the first quarter of last year; however, the expense ratio decreased by 0.8 percentage points to 40.4%.

Credit loss expenses for the first quarter stood at 261.4 billion KRW, increasing by 57.4% (95.3 billion KRW) compared to the same period last year due to rising delinquency rates. The credit loss expense ratio rose from 0.20% last year to 0.31% this year for the first quarter.

The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio, an asset quality indicator, was 0.35% as of the end of March, up 0.04 percentage points from 0.31% at the end of last year. The delinquency rates at the end of the first quarter were 0.28% for banks and 1.35% for cards, higher by 0.06 percentage points and 0.14 percentage points respectively compared to 0.22% and 1.21% at the end of last year.

The NPL coverage ratio decreased to 201.8% from 217.6% at the end of last year. The common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio for the first quarter recorded 12.1%, surpassing the 12% mark for the first time.

Im Jong-ryong, Chairman of Woori Financial Group, attended the earnings conference call on the day and revealed the group’s management direction, expressing a strong commitment to enhancing shareholder value. Chairman Im stated, "We will establish a balanced revenue structure foundation by expanding the non-bank portfolio, including securities and insurance, and accelerate the completion of the non-bank portfolio by seeking opportunities amid crises."

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