(From left) A S Rajeev, ED; Kishor Kharat, managing director and CEO; M K Bhattacharya, ED, during the press conference at Chennai on Monday (Express Photo)
CHENNAI: Public-sector lender Indian Bank on Monday registered an 18.85 per cent fall in its third-quarter net profit owing to higher provisions and lower other income. The bank said it has increased its provisioning to Rs 918 crore from Rs 540 crore.
The Chennai-based lender posted a net profit Rs 303.06 crore for the quarter ended December, compared to Rs 373.48 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the bank has kept a consistency of giving good results, said Kishor Kharat, managing director and CEO, Indian Bank. “The reduction in profits was mainly due to depreciation on investments due to rise in bond yields and other provisions,” he said.
The lender, however, managed to rein in bad loans. Gross non-performing assets of the bank were lower at 6.27 percent during the quarter under review from 7.69 per cent a year ago. Net NPAs were also down to 3.30 per cent from 4.76 per cent. “Our asset quality has significantly improved over the previous year,” Kharat noted.
Total income increased 8 per cent to Rs 4,903 crore during the quarter on higher revenue in corporate and retail banking. Corporate banking revenue grew 5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,732 crore, while retail banking rose 14 per cent to Rs 1,659 crore. The bank also saw its costs go up with an increase in operating expenses. Total expenses increased 4.5 per cent to Rs 3,694 crore and operating expenses for the quarter stood at Rs 962.33 crore, up from Rs 825.10 crore during December 2016.
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