Woori Finance net profit down by 50.6 %

Woori's first-quarter earnings fell by 50.6 per cent from a year earlier on an absence of one-off gains.

The group's net income amounyted to 540.7 billion won or US$504.1 million in the January-March period, compared with 1.09 trillion won the previous year. But compared with three months earlier, net income jumped more than 15 times.

Revenue fell 9.4 percent on-year to 8.4 trillion won and operating profit declined 43.9 percent to 855.2 billion won, it added.

The group, which the government is seeking to privatize, said its weaker earnings stemmed from asset quality deterioration driven by ailing builders and shippers and it had no one-off gains such as stake sales.

Despite the weaker earnings, the group's shares rose 0.36 percent to close at 14,000 won on the main bourse. The outcome came after the stock market closed.