Shares of Punjab National Bank (PNB) fell to a new 52-week low after the bank came out with its Q1 numbers for the current fiscal showing a virtual flat growth both in terms of total income and net profit.
However, what may have caused the sharp decline in the stock price was the spike in gross NPA during the quarter raising concerns about its asset quality.
According to the financial results for the April-June quarter this fiscal, the total income rose marginally to Rs 11,746.59 crore from Rs 11,721.97 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.
The net profit edged up to Rs 1,275.32 crore from Rs 1,245.67 crore. The EPS was marginally down at Rs 36.08 (Rs 36.73).
It was the spike in the NPA percentage that spooked the stock price. The gross NPAs in terms of percentage rose to 4.84 per cent in Q1 of this fiscal from 3.34 per cent in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The net NPAs also were higher at 2.98 per cent compared with 1.68 per cent in the same quarter last year.
The bank’s stock took a hit following its Q1 performance with the stock crashing to a 52-week low of Rs 585.95 on the BSE before it made a mild recovery to Rs 591.30, a loss of Rs 37 or 5.89 per cent.
The trading volume surged to 5.02 lakh shares by about 12.25 p.m. compared to the two-week average of 1.34 lakh shares.