Kolkata, April 29 (IANS) Public sector UCO Bank Friday posted a net profit of Rs.227 crore during the quarter ending March 31, 2011, against Rs.380 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, a dip by 40.2 percent.
‘Taking such a hit was a conscious decision on our part. We had to make large provisioning towards pension liabilities as well as NPAs (non-performing assets). Apart from that, there were system generated NPAs,’ bank chairman and managing director Arun Kaul told a press conference here.
The Kolkata-based bank has made a provision of Rs.354 crore for these against Rs.186 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The bank had made a total provision of Rs.1,788 crore on this count during 2010-11 while Rs.318 crore was provided for pension and employee benefits.
Provision towards NPAs during the year is Rs.1,180 crore against Rs.354 crore the previous fiscal.
Commenting on the NPA condition during the current fiscal, Kaul said the bank was comfortable after it cleaned up bad loans.
‘Our profitability will continue to grow in the coming quarters. Our operating profit has grown consistently,’ he added.
Net interest income of the bank during the quarter was Rs.845 crore against Rs.744 crore, registering a growth of 13.67 percent.
Net interest margin during the quarter was at 2.4 percent against 2.63 percent during the fourth quarter last fiscal.
