Uco net grows 50% in H1

Uco Bank posted a 50.05 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 243.40 crore for the half year ended September 2007 from Rs 162.21 crore in the corresponding period last year.

During the same period, the total business of the bank stood at Rs 1,17,994 crore as against Rs 98,272 crore in the year-ago period, registering a year-on-year growth of 20.07 per cent.

The Kolkata-based public sector bank is planning to raise Rs 100 crore through a follow-on public offering (FPO) of its shares by the end of the financial year to support the fund expansion plans in 2008. 
 

Uco Bank
	Rs crore	% chg
Interest earned	1,581.04	21.28
Other income	153.15	43.20
PBT	212.44	-3.73
Net profit	110.53	9.77
CAR (%)	11.50	-
NPM (%)	6.99	-

"We have applied to the government to raise Rs 100 crore as tier-I capital and expect the approval in a month's time," said S K Goel, Uco Bank Chairman.

The bank would be converting 300 crore equity shares into preference shares as a part of a capital restructuring exercise and the interest rate on the preference allotment has been fixed at 7.5 per cent. In the post-FPO scenario, the government holding would come down to 54.50 per cent from the present 76 per cent.

Interestingly, the leading public sector bank, State Bank of India, is also going for an FPO in the same period, but the chairman did not foresee any negative effect on the Uco Bank's offers.

"Possibly it would work in our favour, primarily because of the prevailing market sentiment at that moment," he added.

Goel said the total deposits and advances of the bank, in the first half of FY08 showed growth of 22.23 per cent and 17.02 per cent respectively compared with the figures in the corresponding period last year.