(Yicai Global) March 30 -- China Construction Bank reported an increase in net profit for last year despite the major state-owned lender’s interest rate spread narrowing.

Net profit rose 6.3 percent to CNY323.2 billion (USD469.2 billion) in the year ended Dec. 31 from a year before, the Beijing-based bank said in an earnings report released yesterday. Revenue slid 0.2 percent to CNY822.5 billion.

Net interest income jumped 6.2 percent to CNY643.1 billion, mainly thanks to gains in interest-bearing assets. Meanwhile, the bank’s net interest margin and net interest spread both fell 0.1 percent to 2.02 percent and 1.82 percent, respectively.

Non-interest income plunged 18 percent to CNY179.4 billion, CNY116.1 billion of which came from fees and commissions, a decline of 4.5 percent. Other non-interest income sank 35 percent to CNY63.3 billion (USD9.2 billion).

At the end of last year, CCB’s non-performing loan ratio was 1.38 percent, down 0.04 percentage point from a year before. The lender’s provision coverage ratio rose 1.57 point to 241.53 percent, and its asset impairment loss dropped 8.1 percent to CNY155 billion. The capital adequacy ratio and core tier-one capital ratio rose 0.6 point and 0.1 point to 18.4 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively.

CCB’s total assets reached CNY34.6 trillion (USD5 trillion) at the end of December, up 14 percent from a year ago, the highest annual increase since 2009. The growth can be partly attributed to the company increasing loans and advances, which totaled CNY21.2 trillion in 2022, up 12.7 percent from a year before.

The bank’s total liabilities jumped 15 percent to CNY31.7 trillion in the period.

CCB also said that it would pay a cash dividend worth 38.9 Chinese cents (6 US cents) a share.

CCB’s stock [SHA: 601939] closed 0.3 percent up at CNY5.96 (87 US cents) today. Its Hong Kong-listed shares [HKG: 0939] fell 0.6 percent to HKD5.07 (65 US cents).

Editors: Xu Wei, Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione