South Korea’s KB Financial Group Inc., which claimed the No. 1 title last year, reported a drop in net profit against the previous quarter’s strong numbers reflecting the bulky sale of the bank headquarters but kept up strong revenue and best-ever bottom-line figure for the full first six-month period.

The holding company in a regulatory filing on Thursday said its net profit in the second quarter slipped 2.2 percent on quarter and 5.8 percent on year to 946.8 billion won ($833.2 million). Operating profit gained 8 percent on quarter and 18.6 percent on year to 1.32 trillion won. Revenue was 11.5 trillion won, expanding 10.4 percent on quarter and 43 percent on year.

For the full first half, net profit reached 1.9 trillion won, its best six-month performance since establishment in 2008.

Shares of KB Financial Group gained 0.56 percent to close Friday at 53,900 won.

Net interest income in the first half jumped 10.8 percent on year to 4.34 trillion won as its affiliates gained across the board. Net interest margin was up 2 basis points at 2 percent.

Its net commission income in the same period also surged 18.8 percent to 1.22 trillion won thanks to strong sales of equity-linked securities and exchange-traded funds along with increased trade turnover. But in the April-June period, it fell 5.3 percent from the previous quarter to 595.8 billion won.

Company assets totaled 463.3 trillion won as of the end of June, up 6.1 percent from the end of last year. Its assets under management gained 7.1 percent to 719.4 trillion won in the same period. Its financial soundness indicators also proved stable, with the BIS capital adequacy ratio - the minimum capital adequacy ratio that banks must attain under the Basel III standard - at 15.14 percent and the common equity tier 1 capital ratio - a measurement of a bank`s core equity capital compared with its total risk-weighted assets - at 14.59 percent.

Its flagship KB Kookmin Bank saw its net profit in the first half widen 11.9 percent to 1.35 trillion won, largely helped by the 83.4 billion won profit in the first quarter from the sale of its Myeongdong building in downtown Seoul. The bank`s net profit in the second quarter was 663.1 billion won, down 3.9 percent from the previous three months but up 9.3 percent when counting out the property sale benefit in the first half.

KB Securities Co. posted a net profit of 152.8 billion won in the first half, up 17.8 percent on year. But due to the weak stock market, its profit in the second quarter slipped to 74 billion won.

KB Insurance Co. netted profits of 188.1 billion won and KB Kookmin Card 168.6 billion won in the first half.

By Kim Tae-sung and Kim Hyo-jin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]