ICBC says H1 profits up 12.5%

BEIJING -- The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, or ICBC, the country's largest bank by market value, said Thursday its profits rose 12.5 percent year-on-year to 123.2 billion yuan ($19.6 billion) in the first half of 2012.

Earnings per share stood at 0.35 yuan at the end of June, said the bank in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

During the first six months, the bank's revenues totalled 262.8 billion yuan, an increase of 13.7 percent compared with the same period last year.

Its non-performing loans ratio dropped to 0.89 percent from 0.94 percent at the end of last year.