Woori Financial Group Surpasses 3 Trillion KRW Net Profit Last Year... Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio at 12.08%

Year-End Dividend Set at 660 KRW per Share
Share Buyback and Cancellation Worth 150 Billion KRW

Woori Financial Group recorded a net profit of 3.086 trillion KRW last year, marking the second highest performance in its history. Notably, the common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio exceeded 12%.

Woori Financial announced on the 7th that its net profit for 2024 increased by 23.1% year-on-year to 3.086 trillion KRW. The group's ROE improved by 1.0 percentage point from the previous year to 9.3%.

The group's total interest income grew by 1.6% year-on-year, maintaining a steady growth trend. Despite two base rate cuts, this was interpreted as a result of solid asset growth driven by a 9.0% increase in corporate loans through initiatives such as establishing specialized branches for small and medium-sized enterprises and focused support for national advanced strategic industrial complexes.

Non-interest income surged by 41.9% year-on-year, significantly driving profit growth. In particular, fee income increased by 21.3% year-on-year, expanding its share to around 20% of net operating income, thanks to diversified business expansion in both banking (WM, IB, etc.) and non-banking sectors.

The group's selling and administrative expense ratio was 42.8%. Despite increased costs due to the launch of a securities firm and expanded digital and IT investments, steady cost efficiency efforts resulted in a 0.7 percentage point decrease from the previous year, maintaining a downward stabilization trend.

The group's credit loss expenses totaled 1.7163 trillion KRW for the year. In the fourth quarter, proactive measures such as additional provisions for non-bank subsidiaries' project financing loans strengthened risk management capabilities to prepare for uncertainties.

The NPL ratio, an asset soundness indicator, slightly increased year-on-year to 0.57% for the group and 0.23% for the bank. The NPL coverage ratio recorded industry-leading levels at 153.0% for the group and 247.4% for the bank.

The group's CET1 ratio stood at 12.08%. Although it was negatively impacted by about 40 basis points due to a sharp 150 KRW rise in the exchange rate in the fourth quarter, it rose by 13 basis points compared to the previous quarter thanks to company-wide efforts to manage risk-weighted assets.

Accordingly, Woori Financial's board of directors resolved a year-end dividend of 660 KRW per share. The total annual dividend for 2024 reached a record high of 1,200 KRW per share. Additionally, this year’s share repurchase and cancellation was set at 150 billion KRW, approximately 10% higher than the previous year.