Vijaya Bank Q3 net dips 21%

The bank, for the reporting quarter registered a net profit of Rs 124.57 crore as against Rs 156.99 crore recorded in the same period quarter of last fiscal.
Briefing reporters, Chairman & Managing Director Albert Tauro said the dip in net profit was due to the provisions made by the bank towards the Spices Trading Corporation Limited (STCL) exposure of Rs 274 crore.

While in second quarter the bank had made a provision of Rs 130.42 crore, in the current quarter the bank has made a provision of Rs 113.17 crore, Tauro said, observing the provisioning has been made from the bank’s profits which otherwise would have been higher. The bank has also effected recovery to the tune of Rs 30-34 crore through sale of assets.

The bank had an NPA of Rs 995 crore in the third quarter. “NPA is a matter of concern”, Tauro said adding it has seen reduction consistently from first quarter.  Likewise, the bank’s total income in the reporting quarter ended December 31, 2009 at Rs 1,447.41 crore has shown decline of 11.47 per cent as against Rs 1,634.98 crore clocked in previous fiscal’s quarter.  The bank’s operating profit for the reporting quarter, was, however, higher at Rs 298.88 crore, an increase of 6.70 per cent over previous fiscal’s same period quarter ‘s Rs 280.09 crore.

Further, the bank’s net interest income went up 45.21 per cent to Rs 454.58 crore during the quarter, aided mainly by a 180 basis points reduction in cost of deposits, Tauro said. The bank’s net interest margin was up at 2.80 per cent as against 2.38 per cent for corresponding previous period. The bank’s return on asset also saw a marginal decline from Rs 1.05 lakh in December 2008 quarter to 0.77 lakh in the reporting quarter of December 2009.
DH News Service