Bank of Communications' First-Half Net Profit Climbed 4.9% on Trading Gains

By Kosaku Narioka

Bank of Communications said Friday that its first-half net profit rose 4.9% from a year earlier, thanks partly to gains from its trading activities despite a drop in net interest income.

The Chinese bank said net profit increased to 42.52 billion yuan ($5.84 billion) for the six months ended June 30 from CNY40.535 billion a year earlier. That missed the estimate of CNY46.69 billion from a poll of analysts by Visible Alpha.

First-half net interest income dropped 3.1% from a year earlier to CNY82.39 billion, as interest rates in the country have fallen in recent quarters. Net fee and commission income also declined 0.8% to CNY24.58 billion.

Meanwhile, net gains arising from trading activities surged 77% to CNY17.64 billion, thanks partly to the growth of subsidiaries' equity investments and gain on changes in fair value.

Credit impairment losses declined 1.3% from a year earlier to CNY36.35 billion. The bank's nonperforming loan ratio was at 1.35%, steady from the end of 2022.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 25, 2023 05:35 ET (09:35 GMT)

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