Woori Finance Q3 net more than triples

(ATTN: UPDATES stock price in para 4; ADDS details in para 7-10, 12)
SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- Woori Finance Holdings Co. said Thursday its
third-quarter earnings more than tripled on increased interest income and smaller
loan-loss provisions, far overshooting a market forecast.
Net profit stood at 483.9 billion won (US$408 million) in the July-September
quarter, up 207 percent from 157.5 billion won a year earlier, Woori Finance said
in a regulatory filing. The bottom line was far above a median market estimate of
around 350 billion won.
Revenue, however, plunged 51 percent on-year to 11.1 trillion won while operating
profit gained 97 percent to 502.8 billion won, said Woori Finance Holdings, South
Korea's second-biggest financial services company.
Shares of Woori Finance Holdings closed at 16,500 won on the Seoul bourse, down
1.49 percent from Wednesday's close. The broader stock index KOSPI ended 1.48
percent lower.
Woori Finance Holdings said the higher net profit was a result of lending
profitability gaining ground and setting aside less reserves against risky loans.
The so-called net interest margin (NIM), or the loan-deposit spread, rose to 1.75
percent in the third quarter, up 0.19 percentage point from three months earlier,
it said.
A one-off factor also contributed to the profit gain. The company booked a
pre-tax profit of 138.3 billion won after selling a computer system center, it
said.
"A set of indices including NIM and default rate showed remarkable signs of
improvement in the third quarter and they are forecast to continue down the
road," the company said in a statement.
As of end-September, its loan delinquency ratio declined to 0.94 percent from
0.97 three months earlier after hitting a record high in the first quarter, the
company said.
Its capital adequacy ratio, a barometer of capital strength, was 12.1 percent as
of end-September.
Woori Bank, the group's flagship unit, logged a net income of 411 billion won in
the third quarter, 209 percent higher from a year earlier. From the previous
quarter, the bottom line increased 140 percent.
The government is poised to unload a 7-percent Woori Finance stake in a block
sale next month after it bailed out the company from the Asian financial crisis a
decade ago. It is currently holding a 73 percent share in the financial company.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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