UCO Bank profit rises fourfold

Bank posts Rs 400 cr profit, net interest income jumps 55%

UCO Bank said on Friday its net profit for the quarter ended September 30, increased fourfold to Rs 400.2 crore, as it earned more interest income, cut interest expense and generated more revenues from its retail banking business.

Net interest income, or the difference between interest income and interest expense, was at Rs 1,569.4 crore during the three-month period, up 55 per cent from the previous close. Revenues from retail banking operations expa-nded by around 49 per cent from a year earlier to Rs 1,554 crore during the July-September period.

UCO Bank shares gained close to five per cent in an otherwise flat market. The stock touched an intra-day high of Rs 77.90 on the NSE. It ended at Rs 74.55 apiece, up 4.93 per cent from the previous close.

The state-run lender, however, continued to make high provisions as asset quality stress persisted during the quarter. Its gross non-performing asset ratio deteriorated by 44 basis points from a year earlier to 5.32 per cent, while net bad loan ratio increased 19 basis points year-on-year to 3.13 per cent at the end of September 2013.

UCO Bank closed the quarter with a capital adequacy ratio of 12.31% as per Basel III norms.