Woori Financial Group reported Friday a cumulative net profit of 2.66 trillion won ($2 billion) for the first nine months of 2026 as underlying income grew, though one-off gains from insurance acquisitions in 2025 mean the figure was down 4.9 percent year-on-year.
Excluding bargain purchase gains related to last year's insurance acquisitions, profit rose 18.7 percent.
Third-quarter net profit fell 15.7 percent from last year's record quarter, but at 1.05 trillion won, it was its second-highest ever quarterly result. Profit rose 4.4 percent from the previous quarter, marking the group's first two consecutive quarters with earnings exceeding 1 trillion won.
Quarterly interest income increased 1.7 percent on-year to 2.38 trillion won, supported by growth in corporate lending, while noninterest income declined 7.6 percent to 581 billion won, partly reflecting weaker securities-related gains.
Cumulative operating revenue rose 6.2 percent to a record 8.68 trillion won, driven by growth in both interest and noninterest income. Operating profit increased 19.5 percent to 3.54 trillion won, supported by improved cost efficiencies and lower credit costs.
Woori Bank, the group's flagship subsidiary, posted a record quarterly net profit of 1.03 trillion won, up 22 percent from the previous quarter. Its cumulative net profit reached 2.4 trillion won.
The group's return on equity improved to 9.9 percent for the nine-month period, up from 9 percent in the first half.
Woori Financial's board also approved a third-quarter dividend of 220 won per share, up 10 percent from a year earlier, as the group continued its shareholder return policy.
"Our strengthened capital position and focus on high-quality assets have helped us achieve net profit exceeding 1 trillion won for two consecutive quarters," a Woori Financial official said. "We will continue to expand shareholder returns by improving our ROE."
jwc@heraldcorp.com