Agricultural Bank of China net profit up 19.2 pct

The Agricultural Bank of China said Friday that its net profits totaled 120.12 billion yuan (19.06 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of this year, showing a 19.2 percent year-on-year rise. The bank's total assets amounted to 13.06 trillion yuan as of the end of the first three quarters, up 11.85 percent from the end of the previous year, according to the company's quarterly report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Friday. The net interest income of the bank increased to 253.24 billion yuan during the January-September period, up 13.37 percent from the corresponding period last year, while its income from commission charges grew 58.11 billion yuan, up 5.99 percent year on year, the report showed. According to the report, the bank's core capital adequacy ratio stood at 9.76 percent, 0.26 percent higher than that of the end of last year, while its capital adequacy ratio climbed to 12.07 percent, up 0.13 percent compared to the end of the previous year. The bank's non-performing loan ratio stood at 1.34 percent as of the end of September, down 0.21 percent from the end of 2011, while its non-performing loans outstanding shrank to 83.95 billion yuan, 3.41 billion yuan less than that of the end of last year, the report said. The Agricultural Bank of China is one of China's "Big Four" commercial banks. The group also includes the Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank. Shares of the bank dropped 1.20 percent Friday to close at 2.47 yuan per share.