IOB slides on weak Q4 numbers

DALAL STREET SPIKES

The share price of Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) slipped by 5.45 per cent on Monday as the bank's fourth quarter results failed to impress the markets.

The counter, which had been witnessing operator-driven-activity over the past few weeks, ended at Rs 64.20 after hitting the day's low of Rs 60.65 on selling pressure. The counter witnessed a volume of more than 9.2 lakh shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

For the quarter ended March 31, 2004, the bank reported a 44 per cent decline in net profit, despite a 9.8 per cent growth in total income.

Its net profit slipped to Rs 77.34 crore compared with Rs 138.21 crore in the same quarter last year.

A surge in non-performing asset (NPAs) provisioning was the reason for the decline in the bank's bottom line. The bank provided Rs 185.71 crore for NPAs in the March quarter as compared with Rs 29.57 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.