Hana Financial Group profit soars to all-time high
Published: 04 Feb. 2025, 18:09
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- SHIN HA-NEE
- [email protected]
![Hana Financial Group's headquarters in central Seoul [HANA FINANCIAL GROUP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/04/4a2419e0-c6f8-4db2-8f71-2e5db547425d.jpg)
Hana Financial Group's headquarters in central Seoul [HANA FINANCIAL GROUP]
Hana Financial Group's profit jumped in 2024, meeting estimates in a record earnings season for the financial group.
The holding company's net profit rose 9.3 percent from a year earlier to 3.74 trillion won ($2.56 billion) over the course of last year, according to its earnings report released Tuesday. The annual earnings marked an all-time high for the financial group, breaking its previous record of 3.57 trillion won logged in 2022, and largely in line with the average analyst estimate of 3.77 trillion won compiled by market tracker FnGuide.
The company benefitted from a robust increase in noninterest income, as well as an expanded consumer base and higher fees, despite the won’s steep depreciation against the dollar — which cost the firm 211.9 billion won in foreign exchange losses — and rate cuts.
The group’s flagship Hana Bank earned 3.36 trillion won during the year, down 3.5 percent from 2023, mainly due to reduced interest income and foreign exchange losses.
“Despite the heightened internal and external uncertainties in the financial market and a decline in interest income due to lower market interest rates, the expanded customer base, the fee income growth driven by portfolio diversification and proactive, systemic risk management led to the growth,” said Hana Financial Group in a release.
Hana Financial Group said that it would repurchase and retire 400 billion won in shares that day, a record amount for the group.
Operating profit rose 3.6 percent to 4.86 trillion won, missing analyst estimates of 5.02 trillion won.
Interest income contracted 0.6 percent on year to 8.76 trillion won while fee income rose 15.2 percent to 2.07 trillion won.
Total shareholder returns for the year stood at 37.5 percent, up 4.8 percentage points from a year earlier.
Hana declared a year-end dividend of 1,800 won per share. Combined with the previously paid quarterly dividend of 1,800 won per share, the total dividend for the year came to 3,600 won per share, up 200 won from the previous year.
BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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