PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BBRI.JK) said its first-quarter net

PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BBRI.JK) said its first-quarter net
profit rose 9 percent from the year-earlier period on an increase
in interest income.

Net profit for the January-to-March period rose to Rp 1.2
trillion from Rp 1.1 trillion a year earlier, Bank Rakyat's
president Rudjito told reporters.

The bank's expansion in consumer lending helped fuel 7.7
percent growth in net interest income to Rp 2.8 trillion for the
quarter, from Rp 2.6 trillion a year earlier, he said.

At the end of March, the bank's total outstanding loan
portfolio stood at Rp 63.36 trillion, up from Rp 49.96 trillion
at the end of March 2004. The lending-to-deposit ratio rose to
76.5 percent, among the highest in the banking industry, from
65.99 percent.

BRI's net interest margin stood at 11.44 percent, compared
with 11.71 percent a year earlier. Rudjito didn't explain why the
bank's net interest margin fell.

Rudjito said BRI's capital adequacy ratio, which is the ratio
between its own equity capital and risk-weighted assets, stood at
22.85 percent at end-March, up from 20.86 percent a year ago.

The bank's total assets rose to Rp 107.21 trillion from
Rp 94.5 trillion a year earlier. BRI is Indonesia's fourth-
largest lender by assets after PT Bank Mandiri, PT Bank Central
Asia and PT Bank Negara Indonesia.

BRI, which is 69.5 percent owned by the government, focuses on
promoting the country's microfinance and small business sectors.

Rudjito expects the bank's net profit this year to rise by 10
percent to Rp 4 trillion from Rp 3.63 trillion in 2004.