KB Financial Group reports slight Q3 profit decline

A KB Kookmin branch in Yeouido, central Seoul [YONHAP]

KB Financial Group reported its third-quarter net profit of 1.34 trillion won ($999.2 million) on Tuesday, down 1.3 percent from a year earlier.

Operating profit for the July-September period was 1.95 trillion won, up 12.6 percent from a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The financial firm attributed the increase in profit to the solid growth at both banking affiliate KB Kookmin Bank and other financial subsidiaries, including KB Securities and KB Insurance.

Revenue fell 40.8 percent to 18.64 trillion won.

The earnings met market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 1.34 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

BY PARK EUN-JEE, YONHAP [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]