Samsung Card Q2 net falls 23 pct

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Card Co., one of South Korea's largest credit card firms, said Friday its second-quarter earnings dropped 23.4 percent from a year earlier on increased reserves. Net income reached 111 billion won (US$106 million) in the April-June period, compared with 144.9 billion won in the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales gained 6 percent on-year to 791 billion won while operating profit tumbled 30.6 percent to 123 billion won, it added. The company said the weaker bottom line came as it beefed up reserves to brace for the growing risks of the country's household debt. South Korea is grappling to control household debt as heavy indebtedness is feared to crimp economic growth by putting restraints on consumer spending. As of end-March, the country's household credit, including loans and credit purchasing, reached 801.4 trillion won. In the first half of the year, the company posted a net profit of 212.9 billion won, down 19.9 percent from 265.9 billion won last year. Revenue rose 4.2 percent on-year to 1.6 trillion won while operating profit dropped 26.9 percent to 235.9 billion won.