Riding on higher interest income, Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Wedesday reported a 20.6 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 512 crore during the first quarter of 2008-’09 compared with Rs 425 crore during the same quarter last year. The rise in profit was despite the bank taking a Rs 150-crore hit due to depreciation in the value of government securities.
“Improved asset quality and steps taken earlier for de-risking the investment portfolio helped us in this quarter,” PNB Chairman and Managing Director K C Chakrabarty said.
The public sector bank’s total income rose by 21 per cent to Rs 4,595 crore, while interest income was nearly 26 per cent higher at Rs 4,138 crore at the end of June this year.
Performance in Q1 ended June | |||
Rs crore | 2007 | 2008 | % chg |
Total income | 3,795 | 4,595 | 21.10 |
Net interest income | 1,301 | 1,445 | 11.10 |
Operating profit | 933.12 | 982.43 | 5.30 |
Net profit | 425.06 | 512.4 | 20.60 |
Total business | 2,38,249 | 2,87,504 | 20.70 |
Deposits | 1,42,609 | 1,73,074 | 21.40 |
Advances | 95,640 | 1,14,430 | 19.60 |
PNB’s profit from trading in bonds dropped 91 per cent to Rs 12 crore in the first quarter.