Agricultural Bank of China (1288) Q3 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Net profit for Q3 2024 reached CNY 215.3 billion, up 3.6% year-over-year, with operating income at CNY 540.7 billion, up 1.3% YoY.

• Total assets grew to RMB43,553,293 million, up 9.23% from the end of 2023.

• Loans and advances to customers rose 9.17% to RMB24,688,299 million since year-end 2023.

• Net interest income was CNY 437.8 billion, up 1% YoY, and net interest margin remained stable at 1.45%.

• Asset quality remained stable, with NPL ratio at 1.32%, down 0.01 percentage points from H1.

Financial highlights

• Domestic loan balance increased by CNY 2.21 trillion, up 8.2% YoY, with personal loan balance at CNY 8.75 trillion.

• Net fee and commission income declined 7.65% to RMB61,653 million year-over-year.

• Credit impairment losses increased by RMB1,470 million to RMB131,046 million year-over-year.

• Cost-to-income ratio (PRC GAAP) improved by 0.20 percentage points to 28.94%.

• Basic earnings per share for the nine months was RMB0.56, up RMB0.01 year-over-year.

Outlook and guidance

• Expectation of stable asset quality and operating performance for Q4 and 2025, despite some pressure from market volatility and policy-driven interest rate changes.

• Interim cash dividend of RMB1.164 per ten shares proposed, totaling RMB40,738 million, pending shareholder approval.

• Cash dividends of RMB5.32 per preference share (RMB2,128 million in total) to be paid on 5 November 2024.

• Focus remains on key business areas, asset quality, and risk control, with continued support for the real economy.

• Net interest margin expected to face pressure due to mortgage repricing and LPR reductions, but deposit cost reductions may offset some impact.