Backed by 18 per cent growth in operating profits, Syndicate Bank's net profit for Q4 of last fiscal grew seven per cent. Net profit for the quarter stood at Rs 309.43 crore, compared with Rs 289.29 per cent recorded during the corresponding quarter of 2010-11.
Operating profits grew to Rs 790.44 crore (Rs 671.96 crore), and net interest income grew 15 per cent. “The bank has done extra provisioning during the fourth quarter of the last fiscal, and our provision coverage ration stands at 80.06 per cent,” said Mr M.G. Sanghvi, Chairman and Managing Director, Syndicate Bank. He indicated that a lesser provisioning could have boosted the net profit.
With aggressive provisioning, the bank was able to bring down the net NPAs to 0.96 per cent (0.97 per cent), he added. Its gross NPAs stood at 2.53 per cent (2.4 per cent).
“Gross NPAs were under stress because many small ticket loans, including from the agricultural sector, were brought into the NPA fold due to the migration to system-based NPA identification, and also the adverse economic condition,” said Mr Sanghvi. The bank is now on an aggressive recovery mode, he added. Recovery during the quarter stood at Rs 296 crore.
For the fiscal ended March 31, Syndicate Bank recorded 25 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 1,313 crore (Rs 1,048 crore), aided by a 33 per cent increase in interest income. Net interest income grew 16 per cent to Rs 5,085 crore.