NH NongHyup Financial Q1 Net Profit Rises 21.7% to 868.8 Billion Won on Strong Fee Income

NH NongHyup Financial Group said Thursday it posted first-quarter net profit of 868.8 billion won, up 21.7% from a year earlier. 

The group attributed the gain to balanced growth in both interest and noninterest income. 

Interest income rose 7.3% to 2.1143 trillion won, helped by a larger core deposit base and a corporate-loan-focused portfolio that improved net interest margin. The combined bank and card NIM increased to 1.75% in March from 1.67% in December. 

Noninterest income climbed 51.3% to 903.6 billion won. The group cited higher brokerage revenue amid more active capital markets and a sharp rise in fee income as assets under management expanded. 

Return on assets and return on equity improved from the end of last year to 0.78% and 11.85%, respectively. The ratio of substandard or lower loans was 0.65%, and the loan-loss reserve coverage ratio stood at 156.54%.

By major unit, NongHyup Bank earned 557.7 billion won, NH Investment & Securities posted 475.7 billion won, and NongHyup Life and Non-Life Insurance reported 67.1 billion won. NongHyup Bank’s profit rose slightly from a year earlier, up 3.3 billion won.

Among capital-market affiliates, NH Investment & Securities and NH-Amundi Asset Management posted year-on-year profit increases of 128.5% and 117.5%, respectively, helping lift group results.