Indian Bank posts 11% growth in net profit

Indian Bank on Friday reported an 11 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 368.15 crore for the first quarter ended June 30 as compared to Rs 331.66 crore during the corresponding quarter of the last financial year.

The Chennai-based public sector bank posted a 11.07 per cent increase in total income at Rs 2,477.25 crore, as against Rs 2,230.39 crore in the same period last year.

Indian Bank’s revenue from the corporate banking segment went up by 19.67 per cent to Rs 1,041.37 crore, from Rs 870.20 crore in the year-ago period.

Speaking to reporters in Chennai, T M Bhasin, chairman and managing director, Indian Bank, said the bank’s current account, savings account (CASA) base rose to Rs 29,750 crore in June 2010 from Rs 22,957 crore during the same period last year. CASA share improved to 33.34 per cent in the first quarter of 2010-11, from 30.39 per cent a year ago.

The bank’s net interest margin (NII) growth would remain healthy at 24 per cent, he added

Bhasin said it had 1,762 branches and was planning to open another 187 this year. The bank is also planning to recruit 1,000 people and will promote another 1,000 existing staff to fill the 600 posts that will be vacant following the retirement of a section of the staff.

As part of overseas expansion plans, the bank has applied for a licence to open branches in Japan, Jaffna in Sri Lanka and in Jakarta, Indonesia. “The government is planning to pay Rs 1,000 crore to the Sri Lankan Tamils through Indian Bank,” he added.

“The Colombo branch alone did a business of Rs 800 crore, of which around Rs 500 crore was advances.”