Central Bank of India has set it sights on tapping the capital market this financial year with a Rs 300 crore initial public offering (IPO).
Towards this end, the bank has written off its entire accumulated losses of Rs 681 crore against the capital.
Post write-off, the capital of the bank stands reduced at Rs 1,124.45 crore. Post-IPO, the central government's stake in the bank will come down to 70 per cent from 100 per cent, while its capital adequacy ratio, which as on March 31, 2002, at 9.58 per cent, will improve to around 12 per cent.
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"Over the next three years, we expect to improve the business from Rs 70,105 crore to Rs 1,00,000 crore and bring down net non-performing assets (NPAs) to below four per cent from 7.98 per cent by March-end 2002," said Dalbir Singh, chairman and managing director of the bank.
Meanwhile, the bank has reported a 251 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 163.30 crore in the year ended March 31, 2002, against Rs 46.46 crore in the previous year.
Profits from the sale of investments at Rs 318 crore in 2001-02 as against Rs 144 crore in 2000-01 helped the bank boost its bottomline.
Interest income increased by 10 per cent at Rs 2,169.37 crore (Rs 1,968.17 crore in 2000-01), while other income, which includes profits from sale of investments, was up by 28 per cent at Rs 600 crore (Rs 469 crore).
Total expenses of the bank increased by 6.77 per cent to Rs 4,553.16 crore (Rs 4,264.22 crore). Provisions and contingencies in the reporting year stood at Rs 525 crore (Rs 419 crore).
As by March-end 2002, gross NPAs of the bank stood at Rs 3,376 crore (Rs 3,253 crore as at March-end 2001), while net NPAs were at Rs 1,699 crore (Rs 1,829 crore).
Singh averred that the bank aims to double its net profit in 2002-03 and has set a recovery target of Rs 800 crore.
On a second round of voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), he said, "Not immediately. However, we have sounded out the unions and associations on moving staff from surplus areas to deficit areas. If this does not work out then we could examine the possibility of offering VRS in the surplus areas."