China Merchants Bank, the nation's sixth-largest lender by assets, said Wednesday that its first half net profit jumped 59.80 percent year-on-year to 13.20 billion yuan ($1.94 billion), because incomes from interest and commission fees surged.

The lender's profits beat the average estimate of five analysts in a Bloomberg survey, which was 12.7 billion yuan, according to a Bloomberg report.

Earnings per share were 0.65 yuan, an increase of 51.16 percent from a year earlier, the bank said in its interim report.

The lender also said its net interest income rose 41% in the first six months to 26.34 billion yuan from 18.62 billion yuan because of improved net interest margins.