Punjab National Bank (PNB) has reported a net profit of Rs 306.56 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2015.
This represents a 62 per cent decline to the net profit of Rs 806.35 crore recorded in the same quarter last year.
Total income of the bank for the quarter under review increased 7.66 percent to Rs 13,455.65 crore (Rs 12,498.23 crore).
The board of directors of the bank has recommended a dividend of Rs 3.30 per equity share of Rs 2 each.
For the entire fiscal 2014-15, PNB has recorded a net profit of Rs 3,061.58 crore, reflecting a 8.4 percent decline to the net profit of Rs 3,342.57 crore registered in the previous fiscal.
A sharp jump of close to 80 per cent in provisioning led PNB posting a ₹631 crore loss before tax in Q4 of 2014-15.
It was the negative tax provisioning of about (-) ₹938 crore which led to the bank overturning the net loss and show a reasonable profit in the last quarter of 2014-15.
The operating profit was ₹3,202.69 crore (₹3,173.43 crore).
However, the bank’s provisions and contingencies of ₹3,834.19 crore (other than tax) was higher than even the operating profit it had made and nearly 80 per cent more than the provision made in the fourth quarter of last fiscal at ₹2,138.69 crore.
This caused the bank posting a loss of ₹631.50 crore in Q4 of last year against a profit of ₹1,034.74 crore in the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal.
What provided relief to the bank was the huge negative provision for tax expenses, including FBT, of (- ) ₹938.06 crore. This turned the loss of ₹(-) 631.50 crore into profit of ₹306.56 crore (Tax expense –₹938.06 crore- ₹631.50 crore loss before tax = net profit of ₹306.56 crore!).
EPS for the quarter declined to ₹1.69 (₹4.45).
The bank’s net NPAs jumped to 4.06 per cent from 2.85 per cent in the same quarter in the earlier year.
The stock wilted under heavy selling on the NSE, losing ₹10.85 or 6.96 per cent to ₹145.10 with the counter witnessing trading volume of 1.47 crore shares on the exchange. The stock is close to its 52 week low of ₹142.60 that it had touched on March 27 this year.