BEIJING - China Citic Bank said on Monday its first-half net profits climbed 40.61 percent year-on-year to 15.02 billion yuan ($2.35 billion).

Net interest income rose 33.28 percent to 29.81 billion yuan in the first six months of the year, the lender said in its semi-annual report to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Earnings per share climbed 40.7 percent to 0.38 yuan, it said.

The bank's non-performing loan ratio narrowed to 0.62 percent at the end of June from 0.67 percent at the end of last year, it said.

Its core capital adequacy ratio increased to 8.87 percent at the end of June, up from 8.45 percent at the end of 2010. Total assets hit 2.25 trillion yuan at the end of June, up 7.88 percent from the end of last year.

Before the report was issued, the bank's share price plunged 3.67 percent to 4.46 yuan in the Shanghai bourse and dropped 2.7 percent to 3.96 Hong Kong dollars ($0.51).