Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
JB Financial enjoys decent profit in Q3
Headquarters of JB Financial Group in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province / Courtesy of JB Financial Group
By Lee Yeon-woo
JB Financial Group announced Tuesday that its net profit for the third quarter of this year was recorded at 167.3 billion won ($121.8 million), an increase of 0.1 percent compared to the same period last year.
For the cumulative period leading up to the third quarter, net profit reached 493.4 billion won, representing a 1.3 percent rate of growth year-on-year, setting an all-time performance high, the group said.
The group's major subsidiary, Kwangju Bank, spearheaded the performance growth. The bank reported a net profit of 215.1 billion won, marking an increase of 5.6 percent during the period. Another banking subsidiary, Jeonbuk Bank, posted a net profit of 159.6 billion won, reflecting a 0.1 percent rise.
Other subsidiaries, JB Woori Capital and JB Asset Management, registered net profits of 148.7 billion won and 7.8 billion won, respectively. Phnom Penh Commercial Bank, a sub-subsidiary of the group, experienced a 10.5 percent growth in its net profit, amounting to 25.3 billion won.
When examining the primary management indices, its return on equity (ROE) and return on asset (ROA) stood at 13.7 percent, and 1.11 percent, respectively. Due to consistent efforts in cost management and improving efficiency, the group's cost-to-income ratio (CIR) reached a record low of 25.8 percent.
"Leveraging our improved capital ratio, we plan to consistently advance our shareholder return policy to boost shareholder values," said the group.
"Despite growing uncertainties both domestically and internationally, spurred by high inflation and a downturn in the real estate market, our subsidiaries have consistently delivered strong results, based on their profitability-centric management strategies," it added.
Analysts have been raising the target stock prices of JB Financial Group recently on the expectation that the group will continue its good performance. About one third of the stocks are held by foreign investors.