Colombia's Grupo SURA posts near-stable Q3 profit as revenues, costs grow

(Reuters) - Net profit at Grupo SURA, Colombia's largest investment company, stayed relatively stable in the third quarter compared to the year-ago period as both revenues and costs grew, the company said in a statement on Friday.

The firm's net profit for the three-month period stood at 400.30 billion pesos ($83.29 million), dipping 2% year-on-year.

Grupo SURA's revenue for the quarter hit 7.85 trillion pesos, up 19% from the year before, on double-digit growth in its insurance sector.

Operational costs for the company also grew, however, rising some 16% from the year-ago quarter. SURA said it would continue to focus on cost control and efficiency, adding the increase in costs was still lower than the jump in revenue.

($1= 4,806.07 Colombian pesos)

(Reporting by Kylie Madry and Noe Torres; Writing by Valentine Hilaire, Editing by Isabel Woodford)