Canara Bank on Friday posted a year-on-year decline of 42.38% in net profit for the quarter ended December 2013, largely on an increase in provisioning. The bank posted a profit of R409.35 crore against R710.51 crore recorded during the year-ago period.
The bank said total provisions for the quarter were
R 1,182 crore against R806 crore in the year-ago period, an increase of 46.7% ?The provision for NPAs during the quarter was R543 crore and that for depreciation on investments was R157 crore,? the bank said in a release. The Canara Bank scrip closed at R221.30, a gain of 2.43%, on the BSE on Friday.
Canara Bank posted a 16.5% increase in total income at R10,935 crore against R9,390 crore in the corresponding period last year. The bank?s net interest income (NII) stood at R2,227, an increase of 12% year-on-year.
Canara Bank said its net NPAs stood at R6,870 crore for the December quarter
compared to R5,134 crore a year ago and R6,459 crore in the July-September 2013 quarter. The bank?s net NPA ratio was at 2.39% compared to 2.35% a year ago and 2.30% sequentially.
?The bank saw asset quality weakness during the quarter, with stressed asset addition of around R5,500 crore during the quarter,? said Vaibhav Agrawal, VP Research, Angel Broking, adding that its high exposure to stressed sectors remains a cause of worry given the prevailing macro environment.
