Grupo Aval Reports Surge in Q3 Profit

(Reuters) – Colombian financial conglomerate Grupo Aval (NYSE: AVAL) reported on Wednesday a more than six-fold increase in its third-quarter net profit, climbing to 415.7 billion Colombian pesos ($94.18 million).

The firm's interest income during the July-to-September period fell 6.3% compared to the year-ago period, settling at 6.87 trillion pesos.

The company attributed the surge in quarterly profits to higher income from investments.

Grupo Aval, whose portfolio includes Colombian lenders Banco de Bogota, Banco de Occidente, and pension fund Porvenir, said its cost of risk shrunk by 59 basis points from the prior year to land at 1.19%.

($1 = 4,413.79 Colombian pesos)