Vijaya Bank net up 36% at Rs 108 cr

Bangalore-based public sector lender, Vijaya Bank, today reported 36 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 108.4 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2009 compared to the corresponding quarter last year. Its operating profit for the quarer went up by 55.4 per cent to Rs 233.9 crore compared to the year ago period.

The total income for the quarter was marginally up by 3.4 per cent to Rs 1,457.6 crore compared to the same period last fiscal.

The rise in net profit was mainly on account of a 35.3 per cent rise in its net interest income at Rest 364 core and a reduction of 2.8 per cent in total expenses at Rest 1,223.6 core compared to the same period last year. The bank’s other income also added to the rise in profit, which went up by 59.2 per cent to Rest 120.1 core in the second quarter compared to the same period a year ago.

Albert Taro, chairman and managing director, Vijay Bank said, “This is the fifth consecutive quarter in which we have clocked strong numbers in net interest income. We have been able to bring down our cost of deposits by 108 basis points to 6.52 per cent year on year.”

Its net interest margin improved from 2.07 per cent for second quarter last year to 2.49 per cent in the second quarter of this year.

The bank’s return on assets improved to 0.68 per cent from 0.53 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year. The capital adequacy ratio under Basel-II stood at 13.44 per cent. This is the first time the bank was rated for Basel-II norms.

The percentage of net non-performing assets, however, increased to 1.46 per cent as against 0.74 per cent a year ago. The earnings per share improved to Rest 2.50 compared to Rest 1.84 in the corresponding quarter.