BEIJING - Agricultural Bank of China, the nation's largest lender to farmers, said Wednesday that its net profits in the first three months this year climbed 36.43 percent from a year earlier due to higher interest income and commissions.

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Net profits climbed to 34.07 billion yuan ($5.23 billion), the Beijing-based bank said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The bank's net interest earnings, or revenue from borrowers minus interest paid to depositors, gained 31.71 percent to 70.53 billion yuan.

Commissions and income from fee-based services rose 63.48 percent to 17.75 billion yuan, the statement said.

The capital adequacy ratio of the nation's third largest bank by assets retreated 0.19 percent to 11.40 percent at the end of March.