Korea's top financial group delivers 3 trillion won in shareholder returns, marking industry first
KB Financial Group, the nation’s largest banking group, posted a record net profit of 5.84 trillion won ($4 billion) last year, beating market expectations.
Annual net income rose 15 percent from 5.08 trillion won in 2024, slightly above the consensus estimate of about 5.7 trillion won, according to disclosures.
Fourth-quarter profit totaled 721.3 billion won, up 5 percent from a year earlier but down 57 percent from the previous quarter, reflecting higher one-off costs such as retirement payouts and penalties.
The earnings growth was mainly driven by stronger non-interest income, the firm said. Net fee income rose 6.5 percent from a year earlier to 4.1 trillion won, marking the first year in which quarterly net fee income averaged 1 trillion won.
“Despite heightened volatility in exchange rates and interest rates, profits at the group’s core subsidiaries expanded, while capital markets-related gains significantly strengthened overall earnings power,” a group official said.
The group met its 10 percent return-on-equity target, posting 10.86 percent, up 1.1 percentage points from a year earlier.
Flagship subsidiary KB Kookmin Bank reported net profit of 3.86 trillion won, up 18.8 percent, supported by growth in average loan balances and higher fee income from bancassurance, funds and trusts.
Record earnings translated into record shareholder returns. KB said it executed 1.48 trillion won in share buybacks and paid 1.58 trillion won in dividends last year, bringing total shareholder returns to 3.06 trillion won and lifting the payout ratio to 52.4 percent, above its 50 percent target.
Based on a year-end Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 13.79 percent, KB also set aside 2.82 trillion won for shareholder returns in the first half of this year, including 1.2 trillion won for buybacks and 1.62 trillion won for cash dividends.
jwc@heraldcorp.com
