The Wall Street Journal-20080214-Woori Finance Holdings Co-- Profit Takes a Hit on Losses From Subprime Securites

Return to: The_Wall_Street_Journal-20080214

Woori Finance Holdings Co.: Profit Takes a Hit on Losses From Subprime Securites

Full Text (111  words)

Seoul-listed Woori Finance Holdings Co. said its fourth-quarter net profit dropped to 199.3 billion won ($210.7 million) from 432.2 billion won on heavy losses in its U.S. subprime-securities investments. The result fell short of a net-profit forecast of 279.3 billion won given by Thomson Financial, largely because the company reflected a higher-than-expected portion of its subprime investments as losses in the fourth quarter. It booked an impairment loss for the fourth quarter of 254.9 billion won. Excluding certain items, Woori Finance showed relatively stable growth, with its net-interest margin bottoming out, asset quality improving and continued asset growth -- both in banking and nonbanking operations -- leading to better core profitability.