Karnataka Bank net up 65% to Rs 134 cr in Q4

Total income for the quarter went up 11.5% to Rs 1,308 cr as against Rs 1,173 cr in the year ago quarter

Mangaluru-based private sector lender Karnataka Bank Ltd has registered 65.5% growth in its net profit at Rs 134.42 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2015 compared to Rs 81.21 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

The total income for the quarter went up 11.5% to Rs 1,308 crore as against Rs 1,173 crore in the year ago quarter. The operating profit for the quarter went up 2.1 times to Rs 189 crore from Rs 89 crore a year ago.

The rise in profits was aided by a handsome growth in net interest income, which went up 16.4% to Rs 291 crore as against Rs 250 crore a year ago.

The business turnover of the Bank has touched Rs 77,689 crore as on March 2015, a growth of 12.71% on an year on year basis. Deposits grew 13.37% to Rs 46,009 crore and advances went up 11.7% to Rs 31,680 crore.

The net interest margin improved 11 basis points to 2.28% from 2.17% a year ago.

The gross non-performing assets ratio marginally went up by 3 basis points to 2.95%, while the net NPA ratio expanded by 7 basis points to 1.98% during the March quarter.

The capital adequacy ratio under Basel-II dipped to 12.67% from 13.3% a year ago. The Bank's shares closed 4.19% higher at Rs 131.90 per share on the BSE on Friday.