The Hindu Business Line : Centurion Bank net up at Rs 33 cr

Mumbai, Jul 23 Centurion Bank of Punjab has reported a 15 per cent growth in first quarter net profit at Rs 33 crore, against Rs 28 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Mr Anil Jaggia, Chief Operating Officer, said the marginal rise in net profit could be attributed to hardening interest rates and increasing cost of deposits.

The profit before tax grew faster than the net profit as the bank was subject to an effective tax rate of 35 per cent compared with 6 per cent in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

“We had the shield of tax credits last year which we did not have this year,” Mr Jaggia said.

Net interest margin fell to 3.6 per cent in the quarter ended June 30, 2007 against 4.7 per cent in the previous year. Net interest income increased 17 per cent to Rs 144.47 crore from Rs 123.21 crore.

Net advances jumped 60 per cent to Rs 11,940 crore (Rs 7,452 crore) while deposits increased by 55 per cent to Rs 16,099 crore (Rs 10,372 crore).

Mr Jaggia said that the bank’s two-wheeler loan portfolio had seen a substantial increase in delinquencies due to hardening interest rates. “We are taking all the measures to arrest the non performing assets in this segment,” he said.

The ratio of net non performing loans of the bank to the net customer assets stood at 1.6 per cent.

Merger with LKB

The board of directors today extended the deadline for the merger of Centurion Bank with Lord Krishna Bank to October 31, since the RBI approval is still awaited. “The banks have been given to understand that the RBI is awaiting the judgment on a public interest litigation pending before the Kerala High Court. The tentative date for the final judgment has been posted for July 31, 2007,” said the bank’s press release.

The bank capital adequacy ratio stands at 11 per cent, against 12.6 per cent in the previous year. During the first quarter, the bank raised Rs 100 crore through private placement of debt qualifying as Upper Tier II capital.

More Stories on : Financial Performance | Private Banks

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Who will take the lead in cutting rates?

FIIs raise exposure in listed public sector banks

Union Bank Q1 net rises 35%; cuts deposit rates

Centurion Bank net up at Rs 33 cr

KVB first quarter net rises 25%

Skymet bets big on weather insurance for air travellers

Rupee scales nine-year high

Bonds gain on smaller MSS auction

Vijaya Bank’s Rs 200-cr bond issue

Now, scorecards to help ease loan approvals

Foreign banks prefer short-dated securities: RBI

Call ends higher at 0.3-0.4%

‘Insurance industry will be hot bed for M&A deals’