UCO Bank posts 19 per cent Q4 profit growth

09 May 2009

Kolkata-based UCO Bank has posted a 19-per cent growth in net profit at Rs102.56 crore during the fourth quarter of the last financial year compared with Rs85.99 crore in the corresponding period last year. Better recovery and a rise in interest income led to the profit growth in the quarter, said S K Goel, chairman and managing director of the public sector bank, on Friday.

For the fiscal year 2008-09 the bank posted a net profit of Rs558 crore compared to Rs.412 crore last fiscal. "Domestic operation contributed Rs466 crore to the net profit and rest came from overseas operations," S K Goel, chairman and managing director of the public sector bank, said at a press conference.

The net non-performing assets (NPA) in the fourth quarter were down 25.60 per cent at Rs812.67 crore from Rs1,092.30 crore last year. Its net NPA was 1.18 per cent in the quarter, while gross NPA was 2.21 per cent at Rs1,539.50 crore against Rs1,652 crore in the corresponding period last year, down 6.80 per cent.

The bank made a total provisioning of Rs217 crore in the quarter compared with Rs255.12 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. It made a provision of Rs50 crore against advances by way of credit linked notes (CLNs) amounting to Rs101.44 crore, said Goel. It also made a provisioning for Rs 50 crore towards staff arrears.

Its total interest income in the quarter jumped 26.83 per cent to Rs2,165 crore against Rs1,707 crore in the same quarter last year. Other income in the quarter was Rs356.30 crore against Rs275.10 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net interest margin (NIM) in the period was 1.75 per cent, against 1.80 per cent last year.

Goel said he expects NIM to be around 2.20 per cent in the coming year as deposit rates have started declining.