Shinhan Card's Q3 net profit jumps 73.7% on one-time gain from headquarters sale

Shinhan Card's net profit for the period surged 73.7 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, driven by a one-time gain from the sale of its headquarters building. Credit card transaction volumes also grew, though funding costs and credit loss expenses continued to weigh on the company.

According to Shinhan Financial Group's third-quarter earnings report released Tuesday, Shinhan Card posted a net profit for the period of 232.4 billion won ($176 million) in the third quarter, up 73.7 percent from 133.8 billion won a year earlier. The figure also rose 68.4 percent from the previous quarter's 138 billion won. The cumulative net profit for the first three quarters reached 485.8 billion won, a 27.7 percent increase from the same period last year.

The results included a pretax one-time gain of 165.6 billion won from the headquarters sale, booked as other income. Operating revenue for the third quarter came to 1.63 trillion won, up 23.5 percent year-on-year, with the credit card segment contributing 883.5 billion won — a 10.5 percent increase.

The company's core payments business also maintained its growth momentum. Cumulative card transaction volume for the first three quarters reached 187.96 trillion won, up 7.4 percent from a year earlier. Lump-sum transactions rose 10.1 percent to 148.05 trillion won, while installment transactions grew 2.2 percent to 20.44 trillion won.

Cost pressures, however, intensified. Interest expenses in the third quarter totaled 292 billion won, up 3.7 percent year-on-year, while fees and other operating expenses rose 19.0 percent to 546.6 billion won. Loan-loss provisions also climbed 65.3 percent to 264.5 billion won.

"Marketing and processing costs rose in line with higher credit card transaction volumes, and interest expenses increased due to higher funding rates," a Shinhan Card official said. "We are continuously strengthening our earnings capacity through a profit-focused restructuring of our business and improved cost efficiency."

The delinquency rate for loans overdue by one month or more edged up 0.02 percentage points from the previous quarter to 1.23 percent at the end of the third quarter, though it was down 0.14 percentage points from 1.37 percent a year earlier. Shinhan Card said it plans to pursue further asset quality improvements through preemptive risk management and systematic debt management.

Looking ahead, the company plans to cut funding costs by diversifying its funding sources and improving its maturity structure, while stepping up efforts to target youth, foreign national, senior and corporate customers. Shinhan Card also plans to expand collaboration with Shinhan Financial Group's digital platform "New Super SOL," and to prepare for emerging payment environments including stablecoin-based and AI-driven agentic payment systems.