Samsung Card 2020 net soars 16% despite pandemic

The corporate logo of Samsung Card Co. (Samsung Card Co.)

Major South Korean credit card issuer Samsung Card Co. said Friday its net profit jumped nearly 16 percent in 2020 from a year earlier despite the coronavirus outbreak.

Net profit came to 398.8 billion won ($357 million) last year, up 15.9 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales climbed 2.2 percent on-year to 3.37 trillion won, with its operating profit surging 18.8 percent to 534.3 billion won.

Last year's solid performance by Samsung Card, the No. 2 industry player, came in spite of South Koreans' decreased card use in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

South Korea has been gripped by the outbreak of COVID-19 since Jan. 20, 2020, when the country reported its first case.

Samsung Card is the credit card arm of Samsung Group, South Korea's top family-controlled conglomerate that also has smartphone and memory chip giant Samsung Electronics Co. under its wing. (Yonhap)