State-run Indian Bank has reported 59 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 131.98 crore for the quarter ended March 31, due to three-fold increase in provisioning for bad loans. It had reported a profit of Rs 319.70 crore in the same period of 2016-17.
Total income during the quarter however rose to Rs 4,954.20 crore from Rs 4,601.89 crore in the same period a year ago, Indian Bank said in a regulatory filing today.
Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) during the quarter declined marginally to 7.37 per cent from 7.47 per cent. The bank made provisions and contingencies of Rs 1,546.33 crore during the quarter, more than double that of Rs 806.91 crore in the year-ago period. Provisioning for bad loans nearly tripled to Rs 1,772.03 crore during the quarter against Rs 608.42 crore earlier. Net NPAs also declined to 3.81 per cent (4.39 per cent).
Despite decline in net profit, the board has recommended a dividend of Rs 6 per share of face value Rs 10 per, that is 60 per cent to the shareholders.
For the entire 2017-18, the net profit declined 11 per cent to Rs 1,258.99 crore from Rs 1,405,67 crore in the previous year. Total income also declined to Rs 19,519.48 crore from Rs 19,531.91 crore in 2016-17.