Hana Financial posts record W3.62tr net profit through Q3

Hana Financial Group said Friday its cumulative consolidated net profit for the period through the third quarter reached 3.62 trillion won ($2.74 billion), up 5.6 percent from a year earlier — the highest figure on record.

The group's cumulative core profit through the third quarter — the sum of interest income and non-interest income — rose 14.2 percent year-on-year to 9.63 trillion won, comprising 7.48 trillion won in interest income and 2.14 trillion won in fee income.

Cumulative fee income through the third quarter grew 29.8 percent year-on-year. Fee income's share of core profit climbed 2.7 percentage points to 22.3 percent from 19.6 percent a year earlier, contributing to broader diversification of the group's revenue mix.

The group's estimated common equity tier 1 ratio at the end of the third quarter rose 0.18 percentage points quarter-on-quarter to 13.45 percent, meeting the target of 13 percent or above set under its Corporate Value Enhancement Plan 2.0. Return on equity held steady at 10.62 percent, in line with the previous quarter.

Return on assets came in at 0.71 percent, while the estimated BIS capital ratio stood at 15.45 percent.

The group said it plans to strengthen execution of its corporate value enhancement plan while maintaining a balance between sound capital adequacy and expanded shareholder returns.

The group's cumulative credit cost ratio through the third quarter was 0.30 percent. The cost-to-income ratio fell 0.38 percentage points year-on-year to 38.38 percent.

Total assets as of the end of the third quarter stood at 924.45 trillion won, including 218.64 trillion won in trust assets.

Hana Bank, the group's core subsidiary, posted cumulative consolidated net profit for the period of 3.32 trillion won through the third quarter, including 1.19 trillion won in the third quarter alone — up 5.8 percent from a year earlier. Cumulative fee income through the third quarter rose 11.5 percent year-on-year to 874 billion won.

Hana Financial Group's board of directors approved a 250 billion won share buyback and cancellation to implement the corporate value enhancement plan and expand shareholder returns. The board also resolved to pay a quarterly cash dividend of 1,165 won per share, up 26.6 percent from a year earlier.

Including 699 billion won in share buybacks already completed through the third quarter, the group's cumulative annual share buyback and cancellation total reached 949 billion won — a 25.8 percent increase from 754.1 billion won last year.