Punjab National Bank Q3 net profit jumps 14%

The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 1,150 crore for the October-December quarter of the previous fiscal.

The increase in the net profit is attributed to decline in provisions against non-performing assets, higher cash recovery and reduction in cost of funds, PNB Chairman and Managing Director K R Kamath told reporters here.

However, operating profit of the bank during the quarter rose marginally by 0.22 per cent at Rs 2,682 crore against Rs 2,676 crore in the same quarter in the previous fiscal, he said.

During the quarter the bank made a cash recovery of Rs 1,499 crore compared to 1,265 in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

The total provisions, including provisions for bad assets declined to Rs 1,376 crore in the quarter under reporting compared to Rs 1,526 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

The bank's gross NPAs increased to 4.61 per cent at the end of third quarter from 2.42 per cent in December, 2011. Its net NPAs also rose to 2.56 per cent from 1.11 per cent in the same quarter of 2011-12.

The total income of the lender rose to Rs 11,519 crore during the October-December period from Rs 10,435.12 crore in the same period last year.

The net interest margin (NIM) of the bank stood at 3.47 per cent at the end

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