UCO Bank Q3 net loss widens to Rs 10.16 bn as gross NPAs rise to 20%

Public sector UCO Bank widened its net loss to Rs 10.16 billion in the quarter ended December 2017 as gross bad loans ratio hit over 20 per cent, resulting into nearly doubling the amount for provisioning requirement.

The bank had reported a net loss of Rs 4.37 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

The losses were also higher compared sequentially against Rs 6.22 billion in the second quarter ended September of this fiscal.

Total income of the bank also fell to Rs 37.21 billion from Rs 48.64 billion in the same period a year ago, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

Bank's asset quality deteriorated with gross non- performing assets (NPAs) hitting 20.64 per cent of the gross advances by end-December 2017 against 17.18 per cent by end- December 2016.

Net NPAs too spiked to 10.90 per cent from 8.99 per cent.

In absolute value, gross NPAs were Rs 253.82 billion as on December 31, 2017, against Rs 221.81 billion in the same period of the last fiscal.

Net NPAs reached Rs 119.23 billion as against Rs 105.44 billion.

Thus, the provisioning for bad loans were to be raised to Rs 16.82 billion for October-December period of 2017-18, from Rs 9.14 billion in the same period of 2016-17.

UCO Bank said it has to make an additional provision of Rs 4.86 billion by March 2018 under the provisioning norms under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, of which, it has provided Rs 3.49 billion by December 31, 2017.

The return on assets plunged to (-) 1.75 per cent for the quarter, from (-) 0.77 per cent in third quarter of 2016-17.

The bank also informed that its board has considered the proposal to issue preference shares to government against the proposed Rs 51.32-billion capital infusion.

Stock of UCO Bank closed 0.68 per cent down at Rs 29.30 apiece on BSE today.