Syndicate Bank net drops 18.5%

Manipal-based public sector lender, Syndicate Bank, today reported an 18.5 per cent drop in net profit at Rs 168.2 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

The total income for the quarter dropped marginally by 4.6 per cent to Rs 2,742 crore.

The net profit came down mainly due to higher provisions towards wage arrears, taxes among others.

The provision made towards taxes during the quarter at Rs 121 crore is 4.48 times higher than Rs 27 crore provided during the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Similarly, provision of Rs 34 crore towards arrears of wages during the quarter was more than double compared to Rs 15 crore provided in the same period previous year.

For the full year ended March, the net profit of the bank declined by 11 per cent to Rs 813 crore compared to the previous year.

The provisions and contingencies were up by 13.37 per cent to Rs 263.23 crore during the Q4 as against the same quarter last year.

The operating profit for the fourth quarter was up by 18.7 per cent to Rs 552.5 crore compared to the same period last year.