UCO Bank is in the thick of action this morning after recording an over three-fold increase in net profit and hinting at a follow-on public offer by the end of May. The stock is trading at Rs 72, higher by 4.4%, on the BSE. The shares had opened at Rs 71 and have touched a high of Rs 73 and a low of Rs 69 thus far.
The company reported a net profit of Rs 380 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, compared with Rs 103 crore in the same period last year. 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 S K Goel, chairman and managing director, UCO Bank.
The bank was also hoping to come out with the follow-on public offer by May-end, Goel added.