AgBank's Q4 earnings up 14% to RMB 28.6b

It beat forecast by 1%.

According to Bernstein Research, AgBank reported Q4 earnings of RMB 28.6bn (YoY growth of 14%), beating the market's expectations by 1%. ROE for the bank was 13.6% in Q4 and 20.9% for the full-year, up 10bp from 2012 levels. Despite the slight beat, underlying fundamentals were mixed.

Here's more:

Positives: AgBank's Q4 NIM up 8bp QoQ; NPL ratio down 2bp QoQ to 1.22%; NPL coverage ratio up 19pp to 367%; Negatives: Q4 revenue growth of 5% YoY was the slowest ever; Tier 1 Capital Ratio down 10bp QoQ to 9.25%; Q4 fee Income down 5% YoY.

Overall, we view AgBank's Q4 2013 results as mixed. Capital raising remains an overhang as the bank did not disclose plan for preferred share issuance in 2014. Reiterate Market-Perform. TP: HK$4.00.