S.Lanka DFCC Q2 net jumps on high interest rate margins

COLOMBO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's development lender DFCC Bank DFCC.CM said on Wednesday its second quarter net profit rose 74 percent, and analysts cited high interest rate margins for the gain.

Net profit jumped to 823 million rupees ($7.17 million) compared to 473.8 million in the second quarter of 2008, the unaudited income statement given to the bourse showed.

"High interest spread is the key," said Danushka Samarasinghe, head of research at Asia Securities. "The bank maintained high lending rates and low deposit rates during the September quarter."

The net interest income rose 35.1 percent to 1.42 billion rupees, the results showed.

Shares in DFCC, valued at around $169 million, are up around 182 percent so far this year, outpacing the 97 percent rise in overall Colombo stock index .CSE. ($1=114.80 rupees) (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Lincoln Feast)