Woori Financial Group Inc., a major South Korean banking group, said Monday its first-quarter net profit fell 8.9 percent on-year due to loan-loss provisions.

Net profit stood at 518.2 billion won ($421.3 million) for the January-March period, compared with 569 billion won for the same period of last year, Woori Financial said in a statement.

The banking group said its loan-loss provisions in the first quarter led to the decline in its net profit. Woori Financial said there was a reversal of the allowance for bad debts in the first quarter of last year.

Its interest income edged up 0.5 percent on-year to 1.46 trillion won during the first quarter.

Woori Financial said its net interest margin, a key barometer of profitability, stood at 1.63 percent at the end of March, compared with 1.78 percent in the same period of last year.

Its flagship Woori Bank posted a net profit of 503.6 billion won for the first quarter, compared with 570.8 billion won in the same period of last year. (Yonhap)