ICBC's H1 profit up 1.8%, bad loan ratio down

[BEIJING] Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) on Wednesday posted a 1.8 per cent growth in its first-half net profit as net-interest margins stabilized.

ICBC, the country's largest bank by assets, said its net profit for the January-June period was 153 billion yuan (S$31.375 billion), versus 150.2 billion in the year-ago period.

The first-half figure implies a net profit of 77.2 billion yuan in the second quarter, up 2.3 per cent from 75.5 billion yuan in the year-ago period, according to Reuters calculations.

Four analysts had on average forecast a 1.7 per cent increase for the quarter, according to estimates compiled by Reuters.

ICBC's non-performing loan ratio decreased to 1.57 per cent at end-June from 1.59 per cent at end-March.

Its net interest margin increased to 2.16 per cent by end-June, from 2.12 per cent at end-March.

REUTERS