Vijaya Bank first quarter net profit up 21%

Vijaya Bank registered a 21 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 173.49 crore in the June quarter in comparison to the same period last fiscal.

The bank had a net profit of Rs 143.88 crore in the corresponding quarter last year

The bank registered a net interest margin of 2.90 per cent, against 2.33 per cent a year ago, while net interest income grew at 47.88 per cent.

Operating profit improved from Rs 209.77 crore to Rs 314.26 crore, up by 49.81 per cent.

The bank's gross NPA came down from 2.94 per cent to 2.32 per cent while net NPA was down from 1.58 per cent to 1.35 per cent.

"Our core earnings continue to show improvement notwithstanding a somewhat slackened pace of business in the first quarter," Albert Taurao CMD, Vijaya Bank, told media.

"Interest expenses on deposits show a reduction by 5.73 per cent helping cost of deposits to come down by 128 bps from 6.82 per cent to 5.54 per cent. Operating expenses grew by 2.50 per cent only during the quarter which also contributed to good growth in overall earnings," he said.

Reduction in cost of deposits and yield on advances helped in contributing to the positive result, he said.

The bank ended the quarter with a business of Rs 1,04,621 crore, a year-on-year growth of 13.96 per cent. This comprised deposits of Rs 62,673 crore and advances of Rs 41,948 crore.

Outlining the March 2011 guidance for the bank, Tauro said it hopes to achieve a business level of Rs 1,26,000 crore, a 21 per cent year-on-year growth. It targeted a minimum 25 per cent growth in net interest income and NIM of three percent. The bank also aimed at containing its gross NPA within two per cent and net NPA within one per cent.