Vijaya Bank Q1 profit up 13.4% to Rs 162 crore

Asset quality worsen, as gross NPAs rise to 7.31% of gross advances as of June, from 3.39% a year ago

Vijaya Bank said its first quarter profit grew by 13.4 per cent to Rs 161.66 crore as it saw more business from people opening new savings accounts.

The Bangalore-based bank had reported a profit of Rs 142.59 crore in the April-June quarter last year. It said it saw its business increase by 6.12 per cent to Rs 21,7839 crore.

However, the bank's asset quality worsened, as its gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose to 7.31 per cent of the gross advances as of June, from 3.39 per cent a year ago. Net NPAs or bad loans stood at 5.42 per cent of net advances at the end of June, almost double that from 2.45 per cent a year-ago. Consequently, provisions for bad loans and contingencies were raised significantly to Rs 267.82 crore from Rs 146.38 crore a year-ago.

The bank said deposits in current and savings accounts or from public increase by 15.19 per cent to Rs 24,285 crore.The percentage of CASA deposits also improved to 21.92 per cent from 20.15 per cent, a bank statement said.

Vijaya Bank's shares closed 3.37 per cent up or Rs 1.40 at Rs 42.95 on Friday on the Bombay Stock Exchange.