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Shenzhen Development Bank Q1 net up 80% to 90%
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-15 10:12

China's Shenzhen Development Bank, nearly 18 percent owned by US private equity firm Newbridge Capital, said on Tuesday its first quarter net profit rose 80 to 90 percent from a year earlier.

The bank, based in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen, attributed the rise to growth in loans and deposits, higher interest margins, a rise in income from intermediary business and a lower effective corporate tax rate.

Its net profit in the first quarter of 2007 was 535 million yuan (about $76.4 million).

The company estimated its earnings per share would rise 56 to 63 percent from the year-ago result of 0.27 yuan. It noted that its shares on issue had risen following a bonus issue last June related to a share reform.

It also estimated that its capital adequacy ratio for the first quarter would exceed 8 percent, the minimum regulatory requirement. The ratio stood at 5.77 percent at the end of 2007.

The estimates were unaudited figures, the bank said.

Several Chinese banks in recent days have announced estimates of strong earnings growth for the first quarter, with Citigroup Inc partner Shanghai Pudong Development Bank saying on Monday its first-quarter net profit rose at least 180 percent from a year earlier.

Last Thursday, China Merchants Bank , the country's sixth-largest lender, said that its net profit in the first quarter rose about 140 percent.

Listed Chinese companies are required to make preliminary estimates if they expect to report large swings in earnings.


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