KakaoBank’s net profit jumps 156% in H1

KakaoBank, the country’s largest internet-only bank by user numbers, on Tuesday said it recorded a 156 percent jump in net profit in the first half of this year, backed by increased interest income and its platform business.

The company’s net profit in the January-June period stood at 115 billion won ($97 million) including 69.3 billion won in the second quarter. Its operating profit was 133.8 billion won.

The mobile-only lender, which debuted on the stock market Aug. 6 as the largest financial stock in terms of market capitalization, attributed the growth to expansion in net interest income from loan growth, income from fees and its platform business. 

The company’s interest income accounted for 72 percent of its operating profit, while income from fees and platforms together made up 25 percent. The quarter’s loan growth was driven by housing loans, while credit loans saw slight growth, the company’s quarterly report showed.

In terms of its platform business, the number of accounts linked with four brokerage firms -- Korea Investment & Securities, KB Securities, NH Investment and Securities and Hana Financial Investment -- rose 43 percent to 4.29 million accounts on the heels of robust IPO subscriptions by retail investors.

The banking arm of mobile giant Kakao Corp. had 16.7 million registered users as of the end of June, with the number of monthly active users reaching 14 million people.

The company said people in their 40s and older accounted for more than 58 percent of new registrations from January to June.

As of the end of June, KakaoBank’s total assets were worth 29.9 trillion.





By Park Ga-young (gypark@heraldcorp.com)