UCO Bank to raise Rs825 crore, targets profit growth of 82 per cent this yearr

09 July 2008

Public sector lender UCO Bank said on Tuesday that it would raise Rs825 crore from the market to fund its business growth and aims for a 82 per cent increase in net profit this year.

"We are looking to raise Rs325 crore through perpetual non-convertible preference shares during the second quarter and about Rs500 crore from follow-on public offer in the third quarter of this fiscal," UCO Bank Chairman and Managing Director S K Goel told a news agency.

The capital raised will help the bank to record 25 per cent loan growth for the next two year, he said.

"Hopefully, by the third quarter market should stabilise and that would provide us opportunity to raise capital from the primary market," he said.

Asked about bottomline target for the current fiscal, Goel said, the bank expects to earn a profit of Rs 750 crore this fiscal against Rs412 crore in the previous year.

 The profit would increase by 82 per cent over the last fiscal.