State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) today reported an over 12 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 343.40 crore for the June quarter on robust retail income, better cost management and vigilance on stressed assets.
The country's second largest public sector bank had posted a net profit of Rs 306.36 crore in the corresponding April-June quarter of 2016-17.
"Our operation 'Parivartan' is to derive maximum benefit out of each of the transactions we are doing. Another factor for better performance is increase in retail and small sized loan demand.
"Third factor is cost consciousness, our cost of funds and cost of deposits have come down substantially," PNB Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sunil Mehta told reporters here.
Total income of the city-based bank rose to Rs 14,468.14 crore in the June quarter of 2017-18 from Rs 13,475.41 crore a year ago.
PNB also improved on its bad assets metrics, with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) dipping to 13.66 per cent of gross advances as on June 30, 2017 from 13.75 per cent a year earlier.
However, on a sequential basis, gross NPAs increased from 12.53 per cent as on March 31, 2017.
Net NPAs came down, both yearly and sequentially, to 8.67 per cent of the net advances. Net NPAs stood at 9.16 per cent and 7.81 per cent as on June 30, 2016 and March 31, 2017, respectively.
The provisioning to cover bad loans also came down to Rs 2,559.71 crore from Rs 3,165.67 crore parked aside in the June quarter of the previous fiscal.
On the bank's exposure to the 12 bad loan accounts identified by the RBI, majority of which are from the steel sector, Mehta said PNB has outstanding loans worth Rs 11,000 crore to these borrowers.
PNB will make an additional provisioning of Rs 1,000 crore this fiscal to cover for these bad assets, Mehta added.
Asked about how the bank will improve on the assets front, Mehta said PNB's mission 'Parivartan' is to focus on asset quality and recovery as well as to strengthen the monitory mechanism under each and every circle.
Parivartan is an acronym for profit, asset quality, recovery, increase credit, vigilant, alternative delivery channels, retail business, turn around time, ambiance and new relationships.
It has been brought in to orient the bank to add more efficiency, profitability and productivity to its operations, Mehta said.
The state-owned lender has also strengthened the resolution vertical by deploying more top management officers for recovery of bad loans and upgradation of loans disbursed.
Among other key metrics, income from retail banking rose to Rs 4,078.10 crore in the three months to June from Rs 3,463.44 crore a year ago.
However, earnings from corporate and wholesale banking dipped to Rs 5,292.47 crore from Rs 6,080.59 crore.
Income both from treasury and other banking operations increased.
The provisioning coverage ratio as on June 30, 2017 stood at 58.23 per cent.
The net interest income for first quarter of the current fiscal stood at Rs 3,855 crore while non-interest income was at Rs 2,332 crore.
For the current fiscal, the bank has planned a Rs 6,000 crore fund raise through various means, including debt, equity, follow on public offer and rights issue.
Yesterday, the bank got board approval for a Rs 3,000 crore fund raise which is subject to shareholders' nod.
Its total business at end-June stood at Rs 10.25 lakh crore, up 8.4 per cent from a year ago.
Stock of PNB today closed at Rs 158.90, up 0.89 per cent on BSE.
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