UCO Bank posts net loss of Rs 588 cr for sixth successive quarter

UCO Bank said no dividend has been announced for 2016-17

Public lender UCO Bank narrowed its loss to Rs 588.19 crore during the March quarter as provisions for bad assets fell.

This is the sixth straight quarter that the lender posted net loss. 

Net loss stood at Rs 1,715.15 crore in the same period last year. 

Income in January-March was down at Rs 3,906.74 crore, from Rs 4,745.48 crore a year earlier.

For the entire 2016-17, the Kolkata-headquartered bank trimmed its net loss to Rs 1,850.67 crore as against Rs 2,788.25 crore earlier, showed its balance sheet.

Full-year income fell to Rs 18,440.29 crore compared to Rs 20,157.28 crore in 2015-16.

UCO Bank set aside Rs 1,577.60 crore to cover stressed assets during the quarter, down from Rs 2,344.88 crore in the previous year.

Asset quality improved with non-performing assets (NPAs) coming in at 8.94 per cent of net advances as on March 31, 2017, from 9.09 per cent a year ago.

However, gross NPAs were a sticking point, which grew to 17.12 per cent of gross advances at the end of 2016-17, from the earlier 15.43 per cent.

The bank said no dividend has been announced for 2016-17.

The board of directors at a meeting held today also approved the issuance of 75 crore shares by various means, including follow-on public offer, qualified institutional placement or preferential allotment of shares.

The stock of UCO Bank closed 0.24 per cent down at Rs 41.55 on the BSE.