PNB posts net profit of Rs 586 crore in Q4; NII rises 48%

State-owned lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Friday reported standalone net profit of Rs 586 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 (Q4FY21). The lender had posted a profit of Rs 506 crore in the previous quarter (Q3FY21), and a standalone loss of Rs 697 crore during the corresponding period last year (Q4FY20).

On a sequential basis, the net profit rose 16 per cent.

The Delhi-based lender's net interest income -- the difference between interest earned through lending and interest paid to depositors -- rose 48.3 per cent to Rs 6,938 crore for the period under review. It was Rs 4,677 crore in the same quarter a year earlier.

The bank’s gross non-performing assets (NPAs) increased to 14.12 per cent in the March quarter, compared with 12.99 per cent in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, its net non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at 5.73 per cent.

The total income of the bank during the quarter stood at Rs 22,531 crore as compared with Rs 16,388 crore in the year-ago period.

The bank made provisions for NPAs to the tune of Rs 5,293 crore for the period under review. This is higher by 15 per cent as compared to the provisions of Rs 4,618 crore in the same period, a year ago

As of March 31, 2021, the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of the lender stood at 14.32 per cent.

"The current coronavirus situation continues to be uncertain and the Bank is evaluating the impact on an ongoing basis. The extent to which the Covid-19 pandemic will impact the results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain including among other things, the success of vaccination drive," the lender said in a filing.

On Friday, PNB's scrip settled lower by 1.37 per cent at Rs 43.10 on NSE.