Agricultural Bank of China profits soar

The Agricultural Bank of China said Wednesday that its net profits totaled 138.037 billion yuan (22.482 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of 2013, showing a 14.92-percent year-on-year rise.

The bank's total assets amounted to 14.599 trillion yuan as of the end of the first three quarters, up 10.23 percent from the end of the previous year, according to the company's quarterly report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

The net interest income of the bank increased to 275.624 billion yuan during the January-September period, up 8.71 percent from the corresponding period last year, while its income from commission charges grew 67.27 billion yuan, up 15.76 percent year on year.

According to the report, the bank's core capital adequacy ratio stood at 10.08 percent, while its capital adequacy ratio reached 12.9 percent.

The bank's non-performing loan ratio stood at 1.24 percent as of the end of September, down 0.09 percentage points from the end of 2012, while its non-performing outstanding loans increased to 87.916 billion yuan, 2.068 billion yuan more than that of the end of last year.

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.

The bank's shares rose 1.18 percent on Wednesday to close at 2.57 yuan per share.