Syndicate Bank Q4 net profit falls 31% to Rs 409 crore

 Syndicate Bank on Wednesday reported 31 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 409 crore for the quarter ending March 30, 2014 compared  to Rs 592 crore in the same period a year earlier.

Speaking to reporters,  Syndicate Bank Chairman and Managing Director Sudhir Kumar Jain said the decline in net profit was mainly due to non-availability of minimum alternate tax (MAT) credit and increase in non-performing asset (NPA) provisioning.

“Besides non-availability MAT credit of Rs 114 crore accounted for in the last quarter of fiscal 2013, gross NPA ratio stood at 2.62 per cent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, against 1.99 per cent in the same period of fiscal 2013. The bank's provisioning and contingencies have gone up 73 per cent to Rs 631 crore from Rs 364 crore in the year-ago quarter,”said Jain.

Putting up a brave front on the macro-economic situation in the country, Jain said even though there is overall slackness in the economy there is scope for revival once a new government is in place. 

“Our inflation rate is melting down, though food inflation is a worrisome factor. With the stern stand of RBI, rupee has recovered against dollar. But there is concern on the impact of monsoons. The recovery depends upon the policy of the new government formed after the election,” he said.

Total income rose 12 per cent to Rs 5,357 crore during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 against Rs 4,781 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. Operating profit stood at Rs 998 crore in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 as against Rs 901 crore in the same period in the fiscal 2013, registering a growth of 11 per cent.

While the bank’s global net interest margins (NIM) stood at 2.29 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2013-14 as against 3.19 per cent in the same period of the previous quarter, domestic NIMs stood at 3.21 per cent in 2013-14 as against 3.52 per cent in the same period in the year-ago quarter. 

Net interest income increased 16 per cent from Rs 399 crore in fiscal 2013 to Rs 462 crore in the same period in the fiscal 2014.