Oriental Bank net rises 116%

Oriental Bank of Commerce's net profit for the first quarter ended June 30, 2006 rose 116 per cent to Rs 94.02 crore from Rs 43.53 crore a year earlier. Total income increased to Rs 1,304 crore, up by nearly 20 per cent from Rs 1,083.1 crore a year earlier.

Chairman and managing director K N Prithviraj said: "The good results are mainly owing to robust growth in credit and good recoveries. We recovered Rs 202.48 crore during the quarter, resulting in the reduction of gross NPAs from Rs 2,416 crore as on June 2005, to Rs 2,045 crore in the current fiscal".

Advances grew by 32.5 per cent to Rs 36,449 crore, while deposits rose by 21.6 per cent to Rs 54,506 crore in the first quarter of 2006-07.

Interest income was Rs 147.78 crore more at Rs 1,135 crore from a year earlier, while non-interest income was higher by Rs 73.14 crore at Rs 168.68 crore.

OBC shares today closed down Rs 2.30 at Rs 177.95 per share. The bank's earnings per share for the first quarter ended on June 30, 2006 worked out to Rs 6.20 and the book value was Rs 170.89 per share.

Prithiviraj said the process of setting up a life insurance company in a joint venture with other banks was on. He added that OBC was expected to get a clearance from the Dubai government by September this year to open a branch.

During the first quarter, 105 more branches and extension counters were brought under the centralised solution taking core banking services to 855 branches.

The company will be opening 65 more branches in the current year, out of which 20-22 branches will be ready by September.

The Bank has also got approval from the Reserve Bank of India to open 62 ATMs, Prithviraj added.