Seoul:<Text>

IBK on Friday reported a first-quarter net profit of 753.4 billion won (US$507.8 million), marking a 7.5 percent decrease from the same period last year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the banking firm revealed in a regulatory filing that it achieved an operating profit of 932.5 billion won for the quarter, down from 1.02 trillion won the previous year. Despite the decline in profit, the company experienced a 43.4 percent increase in revenue, reaching 11.09 trillion won.

The reported earnings surpassed market expectations, as analysts had predicted an average net profit of 704.8 billion won, based on a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data division of Yonhap News Agency.