Seoul: Online lender Kakao Bank said Wednesday its net profit hit a record high in the first quarter of the year on increased non-interest income and a steady rise in its customer base. Its net profit came to 137 billion won (US$99.1 million) in the January-March period, up 23.6 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

According to Yonhap News Agency, operating profit surged 23.3 percent to 183 billion won over the cited period. Revenue gained 9.3 percent on-year to 785 billion won. The company attributed the sharp increase in its earnings to a steady rise in non-interest income and more customers.

Its non-interest income came in at 282 billion won, up 33 percent from a year earlier, while its interest income declined 0.6 percent on-year to 503 billion won over the cited period. Its loans to households stood at 42.02 trillion won at the end of March, up 1.83 trillion won from a year ago.

The company said its number of customers had stood at 25.45 million as of end-March, up from 24.88 million from three months earlier. Its monthly active users hit 18.9 million, according to the bank.