By Yifan Wang

China Merchants Bank Co. said its net profit for the first nine months of the year edged 0.8% lower despite higher income, mainly dragged by weaker cost efficiency and higher credit losses expected.

Net profit was 76.60 billion yuan ($11.41 billion), the Chinese lender said Friday.

The lower profit came despite higher operating income, which rose 6.5% to CNY221.29 billion, mainly driven by a 11% jump in fee and commission income.

Net interest income increased 5.6% to CNY138.54 billion, the bank said. Its net interest margin was 2.51%, down 0.14 percentage point from a year earlier.

Its bad-loan ratio was 1.13% as of end-September, down 0.03 percentage point from the end of 2019.

While the company's asset-quality pressures have eased from earlier this year as China's economy recovers from the pandemic, it expects continued risks for both its corporate and retail businesses given the possibility of a second wave of infections and persistent macroeconomic weakness.

Write to Yifan Wang at yifan.wang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-30-20 0552ET