Vijaya Bank Q2 net up 42% to Rs 203 cr

Public sector lender Vijaya Bank today posted a 41.5% jump in net profit to Rs 203.53 crore for the second quarter ending September 30, 2011.

The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 144.30 crore for the July-September period of 2010.

The bank's operating profit for the second quarter grew by 14.84% to Rs 339.74 crore, the bank's Chairman and Managing Director H S Upendra Kamath told reporters here.

"The bank could post a decent all-round improved performance following concerted efforts for improving core earnings and curtailing NPAs," he said.

Commenting on the half-yearly performance of the bank, he said its net profit stood at Rs 275.75 crore after making a necessary provision of Rs 109.22 crore following a revision in minimum provisioning norms.

Its operating profit for the first half stood at Rs 665.25 crore, as against Rs 610.11 crore in the corresponding period last year, Kamath said.

For the first time, the bank's net profit has crossed the Rs 200 crore-mark in a single quarter, he said.

The bank clocked total business of Rs 1,32,106 crore during the period under review, translating into a growth of 28.92%.

Vijaya Bank's gross NPAs and net NPAs stood at 2.54% and 1.32% of total loans, he said.

The bank opened 50 new branches during the quarter, including four micro-finance branches, taking the total number of branches it operates to 1,250, he said, adding that 86 new ATMs have been installed, taking their number to 643.

On the housing loan front, the bank has registered a negative growth, he said, but hoped the situation would improve.

By March, the bank aims to achieve business worth Rs 1,44,000 crore for the entire fiscal, he said.