Bank of Communications third quarter profit up 31% to $1.9bn

Profit met the 11.9 billion-yuan median analysts’ estimate.

Bank of Communications Co., China’s fifth-largest lender by market value, posted a 31 percent gain in third-quarter profit as lending and fee income rose.

Net income increased to 12 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) from 9.18 billion yuan a year earlier, the Shanghai-based bank said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Thursday. Profit was in line with the 11.9 billion-yuan median estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

BoCom follows larger rivals Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd. in reporting higher profit and narrower bad-debt ratios. Net interest income, or revenue from lending minus payments to depositors, grew 23 percent to 26.6 billion yuan while fee income rose 41 percent to 5 billion yuan.

View the full story in Business Week.