Karnataka Bank expects 18% rise in net profit

The Karnataka Bank Limited is expecting an 18 to 20 per cent increase in its net profits during this fiscal. Last fiscal, the bank earned a net profit of Rs 133 crore and declared a 40 per cent dividend to its shareholders.

"This fiscal, we are expecting an 18 to 20 per cent rise in our net profits. We are also aiming to take our business to the Rs 20,000 crore-mark by the end of next fiscal from the existing Rs 16,400 crore," Ananthakrishna, chairman of Karnataka Bank, told mediapersons here while inaugurating the bank's 379th branch at Visakhapatnam.

"Currently, we have 379 branches across the country, of which 252 branches are in Karnataka only. Andhra Pradesh has 29 branches. By end of March 2006, we plan to take our total number of branches to 400," Ananthakrishna said.

The proposed 19 new branches during the next fiscal will be mostly in northern states," he said, adding, of the total branches, 275 branches provide core banking solutions.

At present, the 29 branches in the state generate a total business of Rs 900 crore.

"The bank is targeting Rs 1,000 crore business by the end of next fiscal here," he said, adding, "as on date, our net NPA is 2.9 per cent. We plan to reduce it to below 2 per cent by the end of next fiscal."