 "Canara Bank")
Public sector lender Canara Bank on Monday posted a profit of Rs 214 crore for the March quarter of last fiscal as it managed to rein in non-performing assets.
In comparison, the bank had registered a loss of Rs 3,905 crore for the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal, 2015-16.
Asked for reasons for registering a loss of Rs 107.70 crore quarter-on-quarter, Canara Bank MD and CEO Rakesh Sharma said the main criterion for assessing the performance of any bank is to see the net interest income, which has increased by 14.08 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,708 crore.
"If you see the net interest income, that is the main criteria for assessing the performance of any bank. The net interest income of our bank increased by 14.08 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,708 crore," he said.
He said if one sees the operating profit of the bank from December, it has increased to Rs 2,973 crore from Rs 1,981 crore, the highest operating profit in any quarter.
"Nowadays, we have to see the operating profit. From December, the operating profit was Rs 1,981 crore and has now increased to Rs 2,973 crore ... This is the highest operating profit in any quarter," he said.
Even the net interest margin has increased from 2.19 per cent to 2.24 per cent, he added.
The bank's total income during the January-March quarter of 2016-17 rose to Rs 12,889 crore, as against Rs 12,116.14 crore in the same period a year ago, Sharma said.
Bank's gross bad loans or non-performing assets during the quarter under review rose marginally to 9.63 per cent as against 9.4 per cent in the same year-ago period, he said.
The gross NPAs, in terms of amount, were at Rs 34,202 crore, up from Rs 31,637.83 crore in the year-ago period, Sharma said.
Net NPAs at 6.33 per cent showed a slight decline as against 6.42 per cent a year ago, he added.
Capital adequacy ratio on March 31 stood at 12.86 per cent against 11.08 per cent a year ago, Sharma said.
For the entire financial year 2016-17, the bank posted a profit of Rs 1,122 crore as against a loss of 2,812.82 in the previous fiscal, Sharma said.
The Board of Directors at its meeting held today has recommended a 10 per cent dividend for the year 2016-17.
