Syndicate Bank Q3 net declines 20% to Rs 305 cr

 Manipal-headquartered public sector lender Syndicate Bank on Wednesday reported 19.68 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 304.99 crore for the third quarter ended December 2014, on account of higher tax expenses.

The bank had reported net profit of Rs 379.76 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

However, the bank’s total income went up 18 per cent to Rs 5,921 crore compared with Rs 5,011.28 crore a year ago, Syndicate Bank said in a filing to the BSE.

The operating profit was up 4 per cent to Rs 838.20 crore compared with Rs 805.63 crore.

Net Interest Income (NII), or the difference between the interest earned on loans and the interest paid on deposits stood at Rs 1,317.68 crore in fiscal third quarter, declined by 3 per cent from Rs 1,358.53 crore a year ago. The public sector lender’s other income rose 46 per cent to Rs 428.13 crore to Rs 292.34 crore.

On the asset front, gross non performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans increased to 3.6 per cent of gross advances, from 2.8 per cent in the year ago period. Net NPAs were at 2.38 per cent of net advances in the third quarter of 2014-15, up from 1.66 per cent during the same period a year earlier.

Gross NPAs in absolute terms rose to Rs 6,723.99 crore as compared with Rs 4,400.98 crore at the end of December 2013.

Briefing reporters, Syndicate Bank Executive Director T K Srivastava said: “The Syndicate Bank board has decided to issue equity shares of Rs 10 each aggregating Rs 460 crore to the Government of India on a preferential basis.” The Centre had recently decided to infuse Rs 460 crore as capital into the bank.

Syndicate Bank is planning to raise Rs 2,100 crore capital soon. “The bank will raise the proposed capital by way of tier-I capital and bonds. We are also waiting for the necessary approval to raise Rs 1,000 crore before June.

We are waiting for the nod to raise additional Rs 1,100 crore through QIP (Qualified Institutional Placement) in the next three-six months,” Srivastava said.

It opened a total of 101 branches during Q3, including one in London, taking the total to 3,463. The bank is planning to recruit 2,950 officers for next financial year. Currently, the bank has around 29,000 employees.

The bank’s shares were closed at 10.25 per cent higher at Rs 115.10 per share on BSE.