Bank of Communications profit up 24% to $1.37bln

Despite double digit growth, third quarter profit still fell short of the $1.42bln median analysts’ estimate.

Bank of Communications Ltd., China’s fifth-largest bank, posted a 24 percent gain in third-quarter profit as an economic recovery boosted income from loans and lending margin.

Net income climbed to 9.18 billion yuan ($1.37 billion), or 0.17 yuan a share, from a restated 7.39 billion yuan ($1.10 billion), or 0.14 yuan, a year earlier, the Shanghai-based company, also known as BoCom, said in a statement on Thursday. That fell short of the 9.5 billion yuan ($1.42 billion) median estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Outstanding loans at BoCom, part-owned by HSBC Holdings Plc, rose 18 percent from the beginning of the year to 2.2 trillion yuan ($328.94 billion) at the end of September, according to Thursday’s statement. The bank’s impaired loan ratio was unchanged at 1.22 percent as of Sept. 30 from three months earlier.

Shares of BoCom have gained 7.5 percent in Hong Kong this year, compared with a 6 increase in the benchmark Hang Seng Index. The stock closed 1.8 percent higher at HK$9.19 ($1.18) on Thursday, before the earnings were announced.

BoCom’s capital adequacy ratio, a key measure of financial strength, stood at 12.53 percent as of Sept. 30.

View the full story in Bloomberg.