Rupee up 15 paise - gilts lacklustre
Mumbai: The rupee rallied against the dollar on Friday ending the day at 43.54/55 on the back of heavy selling by banks and corporates. The rupee had closed at 43.7050/7150 on Thursday.

Forwards market: The 12-month premium closed at 1.5 per cent (1.62/63) and the 6-month premium closed at 1.75 per cent (1.85).

G-Secs: The bond market subsided after Thursday's fall of nearly a rupee. The yields increased by 1 or 2 basis points and the prices fell by 10 to 15 paise. Market sources said that trade was thin ahead of the Rs8,000-crore auction on May 3.

The currently active 8.07-12-year-2017 bond was largely flat and closed at Rs104.06 (7.54 per cent YTM), down from Thursday's closing at Rs104.10 (7.53 per cent YTM). The 7.38-10-year-2015 benchmark paper closed at Rs101.33 (7.19 per cent YTM), up from Thursday's close at Rs101.20 (7.21 per cent YTM).

Call rates: The inter bank rates closed lower at 4 per cent as there were few trades.

CBLO market: 208 trades aggregating Rs6,970.85 crore, in the rate-range of 1-4.8 per cent were realised.
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Banking Results: PNB, BoI, IDBI, SBT
PNB's Q4 net up 21 per cent at Rs360
New Delhi: The Punjab National Bank's total income in the fourth quarter has gone up by 5.9 per cent to Rs2,562 crore compared to Rs2,418 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The bank's Q4 net profit has gone up by 21 per cent to Rs360 crore from Rs297 crore in the March ending quarter of 2004.

The government-owned bank has said that its fourth quarter earnings per share (EPS) was at Rs13.54 compared to Rs11.21 in Q4 of 2003-04. The bank's provisions have fallen sharply to Rs52.7 crore from Rs247 crore while its interest income has increased Rs2185 crore from Rs2028 crore.

For the financial year 2005, PNB has logged a net profit of Rs1410 crore compared to Rs1108 crore in the previous year. PNB's other income has fallen to Rs377 crore from Rs390 crore last year.

The bank says its net NPAs are 0.20 per cent of net assets. PNB has also declared a final dividend of Rs3 a share.

Bank of India Q4 net drops 85 per cent
Mumbai: A decline in the profits from sale of investments and higher provisioning has resulted in Bank of India's net profit dropping by 85 per cent to Rs52.79 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2005, against Rs349.10 crore in the corresponding period, the previous year.

The board has declared a final dividend of 10 per cent in addition to the interim dividend of 10 per cent paid earlier taking the total dividend for the year to 20 per cent.

Bank officials said that last year, the bank had made bumper profits from the sale of securities, which was not the case this year as the bank wanted to make the balance-sheet stronger by providing for all that was possible.

During the current fiscal, the bank has de-risked its portfolio by transferring securities worth Rs13,598 crore to held-to-maturity category. On this the bank has taken a hit of Rs528 crore.

During the fourth quarter, the treasury profits dipped to Rs89.50 crore (Rs392.38 crore). Total income fell to Rs1,978.65 crore (Rs2,059.09 crore). This comprised interest earned which was at Rs1,591.04 crore (Rs1,470.59 crore) and other income at Rs387.61 crore (Rs588.50 crore).

Total expenditure was at Rs1,650.94 crore (Rs1,375.67 crore). This is inclusive of interest expended at Rs1,978.65 crore (Rs2,059.09 crore) and operating expenses at Rs543.57 crore (Rs474.05 crore).

Provisions and contingencies were higher at Rs299.43 crore (Rs214.53 crore). Gross non-performing assets of the bank were at Rs3,155.91 crore (Rs3,734.02 crore). Net non-performing assets of the bank were at Rs1,554.28 crore (Rs2,061.57 crore).
Officials also said that the bank will raise the first tranche of its $ 1 billion, MTN programme in the next three months, starting with $ 300 million.

IDBI's 6-month net at Rs.307 crore
Mumbai: The Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) has earned a net profit of Rs307 crore during the six-month ended March 31, 2005. The bank has not given comparable figures for the corresponding period in the previous year.

The Reserve Bank of India had approved the scheme of amalgamation of IDBI Bank Ltd, with IDBI Ltd effective from April 2, 2005. The appointed date for the merger as per the approved scheme was October 1, 2004. Accordingly, the balance sheet and P&L account for the six-month accounting period ended March 31, 2005 have been drawn up for the merged entity, the bank has said in a press release.

The board has recommended a dividend, at Rs0.75 per share, on equity shares for the six-month period. Total income of the bank during the six-month period was Rs3,282.85 crore.

Marginal rise in SBT annual net
Thiruvananthapuram: The State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has recorded a marginal rise in net profit for the fiscal 2004-05, at Rs247.13 crore as against Rs244.60 crore in 2003-04.
The operating profit has increased by Rs101.22 crore (Rs802.05 crore), according to a statement from the bank. The board of directors has declared a dividend of 75 per cent, the same as last year.

The bank could sustain the profitability mainly on account of a 31.15 per cent increase in net interest income.

The earnings per share touched Rs494.26 as against Rs489.20 in the previous year and the book value per share reached Rs2,260 from Rs1,851 in 2003-04.

The capital adequacy ratio stood at 11.05 per cent as at the end of March 2005.
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