United Bank of India has reported a net profit of ₹43.80 crore in the second quarter against net loss of ₹489.47 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. However, this year’s second quarter profit was down from the first quarter (₹65.89 crore). The public sector bank’s net non-performing assets moved up to ₹4,486 crore during the quarter (₹4,384.69 crore in the corresponding quarter in the previous year). However, the NPA figure was an improvement over that the first quarter number of ₹4,666.54 crore.
The bank said that it had not yet calculated the impact of the recent cancellation of coal blocks on its loan portfolio. A recent Supreme Court ruling had held that coal block allocations made in the past couple of decades were illegal and had penalised the companies which extracted coal. The viability of such coal projects, financed by UBI, “has not been considered as the same is not ascertainable at this stage”, the bank said in a note to the accounts of the quarter.
Pending settlement of the proposed wage revision, effective from November 2012, an ad hoc provision of ₹230 crore, including ₹30 crore during Q2 , has been made. It has also provided for quarterly amortisation of ₹22.37 crore for pension options and higher gratuity limit for the employees.