KB Financial Group Inc., a major South Korean banking group, said Thursday that its net profit jumped 36.2 percent from a year earlier in the third quarter on increased interest income and decreased general costs.

In the three months ending Sept. 30, the financial holding company's net profit came to 564.4 billion won ($500 million), compared to 414.5 billion won in the same period last year, the group said in a regulatory filing.

In the January-September period, the group's combined net profit stood at 1.68 trillion won, up 25.1 percent from a year earlier.

The banking group attributed the on-year gain to an increased interest income and a decline in general costs and loan-loss provisions.

The group said its interest income gained 3.1 percent from a year earlier in the third quarter to 1.6 trillion won and its net interest margin, a key measure of profitability, stood at 1.85 percent in the third quarter, compared to 1.88 percent from a year earlier.

The group said its general costs came to 995 billion won in the third quarter, down 6.9 percent from a quarter earlier. It also said it put aside 538.5 billion won to handle any possible non-performing loans during the first nine months of this year, down 21.6 percent from a year earlier.

Flagship Kookmin Bank posted a net profit of 421.8 billion won in the third quarter, up 80.6 percent from a year earlier.

As of end-September, the group's total assets stood at 351.8 trillion won, up 8.4 percent from a year earlier.

Shares of the KB Financial Group closed at 41,700 won on the Seoul bourse, up 1.46 percent from the previous session's close, outperforming the broader KOSPI's 0.02 percent loss. (Yonhap)