SIB FY10 profit at lifetime high of Rs 234 cr

The  Thrissur, Kerala- based South Indian Bank (SIB) today approved a proposal to split its stock by 1:10.

Currently the bank has an equity base of Rs 113.01 crore with 11.30 crore shares which would go up to 113 crore shares after the split. Currently, its stock has a face value Rs 10, which will be split into 10 shares of Re 1 each.

"The share split decision was taken by the board to make our shares more affordable to small investors and also for broad-basing retail investors which would encourage wider retail investor participation," SIB managing director and chief executive V A Joseph said in a release today after the boarding meeting.

"The proposal is subject to approval of the shareholders in the ensuing annual general meeting and also clearance from regulatory authorities," he said.

The bank reported a net profit of Rs 233.76 crore for fiscal 2009-10 which was the highest in its 81-year history and recommended a dividend of Rs 4 per share for the year against Rs 3 in the previous year.

The bank could also bring down its net non-performing assets to 0.39 per cent from 1.13 per cent as on March 31, 2009 and improve its asset quality.

The capital adequacy ratio of the bank stood at 14.73 per cent (Bsael-I) and 15.39 per cent (Basel-II) against the regulatory requirement of 9 per cent. Its NPA coverage ratio stood at 70.82 per cent which is well above the stipulated rate of 70 per cent prescribed by the RBI to be achieved by September 2010, the bank release added.

The SBI counter closed 0.83 per down at Rs 154.65 on the BSE today when the index plunged 447 points or 2.71 per cent.