Profit for Colombia’s Grupo Aval jumps six fold in third-quarter

(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, however, fell 6.3% compared to the year-ago period to settle at 6.87 trillion pesos.

The company attributed the surge in quarterly profits on 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)