HONG KONG: Bank of China , the country's No.4 lender, reported earnings in line with expectations on Thursday as income from advisory work helped to offset weaker loan growth.

The bank said it made a net profit of 39.8 billion yuan ($6.44 billion) in the January-March quarter, in line with expectations for a 39.5 billion yuan profit, according to a Reuters survey of six analysts. The net result was up 8 percent from its 36.8 billion yuan profit in the same period last year.