Government-owned UCO Bank has recorded an over three-fold rise in net profit to Rs 380 crore for the quarter ended March 31, compared with Rs 103 crore in the year-ago quarter.
The rise in profit, almost 269 per cent, was on account of aggressive shedding of high-cost deposits and rise in yield on advances, said SK Goel, chairman and managing director, UCO Bank. However, the bank's treasury income dropped 70 per cent to Rs 27 crore, against Rs 90 crore in the same period last year. As a result, non-interest income fell to Rs 254 crore in the last quarter, against Rs 356 crore in the same period last year, a drop of about 28 per cent.
The net interest income of the bank increased by about 98 per cent to Rs 744 crore in the March quarter, against Rs 375 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The net interest margin (NIM) of the bank in the quarter was 2.38 per cent, against 1.85 per cent in the same period last year.
The bank was planning to come out with a follow-on public offer by May-end, said Goel.
Also, it has sought a capital infusion of Rs 1,500 crore from the government in the current financial year. This apart, it is expecting another Rs 300 crore infusion as part of the earlier approved capital infusion plan of Rs 1,200 crore.
The capital adequacy ratio of the bank stood at 13.21 per cent in the last quarter, against 11.93 per cent in the year-ago period.