JB Financial Group (175330.KS) said Wednesday that its controlling interest net profit for the first quarter reached 166.1 billion won ($120 million), up 2.1% from a year earlier. The group posted a return on equity (ROE) of 11.2% and a return on assets (ROA) of 0.94%. Its common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio stood at 12.61%, improving 0.03 percentage points from the end of the previous year.
JB Woori Capital reported first-quarter net profit of 72.7 billion won, a 24.3% increase from the same period a year earlier. Jeonbuk Bank and Gwangju Bank posted 39.9 billion won and 61.1 billion won, respectively. Both banks showed sluggish performance due to higher selling, general and administrative expenses linked to early retirement programs as well as securities valuation losses.
JB Asset Management and JB Investment recorded net profits of 1.1 billion won and 3 billion won, respectively. Phnom Penh Commercial Bank, a sub-subsidiary in Cambodia, posted net profit of 12.4 billion won, up 21% from a year earlier.
"We will concentrate our capabilities on discovering new business opportunities to secure future growth engines and advancing our niche market strategy, and will implement a 50% shareholder return ratio," JB Financial Group Chairman Kim Ki-hong said on the same day.
On Wednesday, JB Financial Group's board of directors resolved to pay a quarterly dividend of 311 won per common share in cash. This is roughly double the 160 won per share dividend paid in the first quarter of last year. Having met the requirements of a high-dividend company, JB Financial Group has transitioned to an "equal quarterly dividend" system starting this quarter.
