IOB likely to pay 20% dividend in 2003-04

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) is likely to declare a 20 per cent dividend for 2003-04, up from 16 per cent in the previous year.

This was indicated by the bank's executive director Rohit M Desai after the inauguration of the bank's all branch banking (ABB) facility. He said the bank has consistently declared dividend of over 12 per cent to its shareholders since 2001-02.

With IOB's net profit rising from Rs 40 crore in 1999-00 to Rs 512 crore in 2003-04, the dividend payout has gone up proportionately, Desai said. He added that, while the bank had declared a dividend of 16 per cent in 2002-03, the payout could go up to 20 per cent for 2003-04.

The IOB official said the bank has projected a 10 per cent rise in its business for the current financial year, which will push up the total business portfolio from Rs 62,500 crore to Rs 70,000 crore by March end, 2005.

He said, IOB had turned in a commendable performance over the last four years by increasing its total business from Rs 33,000 crore in 1999 to Rs 62,500 crore in 2003-04.

It has also brought down the net NPA from 7.65 per cent to 2.85 per cent and gross NPA from 13.17 per cent to 7.40 per cent during the period.

The bank aims to increase its advances portfolio from Rs 19,900 crore to Rs 23,000 crore during the current year while deposits are targeted to grow from Rs 13,900 crore to Rs 15,000 crore.

Meanwhile, utilizing its in-house software development facility, the bank has gone aggressive on the technology front and computerised all its 1,457 branches in the country "" it is the first public sector bank to do so.

IOB has extended ABB facility to 455 of its branches across 129 centres including seven branches in Orissa. The facility enables a customer to do wide range of transactions between two ABB-enabled branches anywhere in the country.

The bank intends to roll out ABB facility at 600 branches by the end of the current fiscal. It will cover 75 to 80 per cent of the bank's total business, Desai added.