Beijing: KB Financial Group on Thursday reported its fourth-quarter net income of 748.6 billion won (US$510.7 million), marking a 13.5 percent increase from the previous year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that its operating profit for the October-December period surged by 71.6 percent year-on-year to reach 1.77 trillion won. However, sales saw a decline of 15.1 percent, totaling 22.46 trillion won.

The financial results surpassed market expectations, as analysts had projected an average net profit of 562.6 billion won, based on a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.