Woori Financial Group reported a net profit of 2.15 trillion won ($1.88 billion) last year, a record-high yearly performance for the group.

Its 2011 performance compares to 1.28 trillion won in net profit posted a year earlier.

The financial group also saw its total assets maintain the No. 1 position in the local financial industry.

In a statement, Woori Financial said it has strived to reduce insolvent assets over the past four years since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Meanwhile, Woori Financial has been pushing for takeover deals in three overseas markets simultaneously, according to the group chairman.

It has reportedly been in mergers and acquisitions talks in two locations in Southeast Asia.

Group executives had said they were considering increasing the company’s presence in countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam through M&As.

Its strategy in the region is a reflection of the big number of Korean companies doing business there, while the number of Korean expatriates is increasing.

Apart from conducting the takeover deals, the financial group is seeking to open more branches of its flagship Woori Bank in the Southeast Asian market.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)