Syndicate Bank Q4 net up 10 times

Riding high on increased advances, Syndicate Bank recorded a net profit of Rs 104 crore in Q4 2006-07, over 10 times compared with the corresponding period last year, when it netted Rs 10 crore.

During the quarter, advances grew by 42 per cent, whereas deposits grew by only 4.4 per cent. The bank's net interest income grew by 53.34 per cent during the quarter, and total income grew by 54 per cent to reach Rs 1,930.40 crore.

"There was a 48 per cent growth in business leading to increase in the bottom line," Syndicate Bank Managing Director C P Swarnkar said.

For the entire year, the bank recorded 33.47 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 716 crore. "This growth has been achieved despite making higher provision towards standard advances of Rs 95 crore when compared to the previous year," he said.

The operating profit for the year stood at Rs 1,383 crore against Rs 1,008 crore reported in 2005-06. The total income of the bank increased to Rs 6,659 crore during 2006-07, up 44.36 per cent when compared with 2005-06.

"This growth is mainly because of the growth in interest income. The interest income for the year increased to Rs 6,040 crore when compared with Rs 4,050 crore in the previous fiscal. While the overall growth in interest income is 49.12 per cent, the increase in interest on advances is close to 53 per cent," Swarnkar said.

The net interest income for the 2006-07 fiscal grew by 14.31 per cent to touch Rs 2,150 crore.

The capital adequacy ratio stood at 11.74 per cent. The return on assets remained at the same level of 0.91 per cent for both the fiscals (2005-06 and 2006-07), while earnings per share improved from Rs 10.60 as on March 31, 2006, to Rs 13.72.

The gross non-performing assets (NPA) has come down to 2.95 per cent from 4 per cent in 2005-06 fiscal. The net NPA also came down to 0.76 per cent from 0.86 per cent.

The board of directors has proposed a final dividend of 13 per cent. The bank had earlier announced an interim dividend of 15 per cent.