Bank of China (BOC), one of the country's big four state-owned lenders, said Tuesday its net profit rose 5.34 percent year on year in the first three quarters of 2018.

Net profit attributable to shareholders reached 153.27 billion yuan (about 22 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-September period, following international financial reporting standards, according to a company statement.

Operating income increased 3.22 percent year on year to 375.86 billion yuan during the period.

Total assets reached 20.93 trillion yuan by the end of September, up 7.49 percent from the end of 2017.

The bank's non-performing loan ratio stood at 1.43 percent at the end of September, according to the statement.

BOC's shares in Shanghai climbed 1.08 percent on Tuesday, while its shares in Hong Kong gained 0.92 percent.