Uti Bank Q1 Net Soars 42% To Rs 36 Crore

UTI Bank has reported a 42 per cent increase in net profit for the first-quarter ended June 30, 2002, at Rs 35.98 crore compared with Rs 25.36 crore in the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal.

Net interest income of the bank surged 117 per cent to Rs 59.88 crore (Rs 27.61 crore), while fee-based income rose by 48 per cent to Rs 33.77 crore (Rs 22.88 crore). Trading income, however, declined by 68 per cent to Rs 25.10 crore (Rs 78.02 crore).

PJ Nayak, chairman and managing director of the bank, said: "The bank has reduced its cost of deposits substantially by focusing on savings-account deposits. A combination of increasing spreads and rising assets-base has seen growth in interest income. The bank has a retail customer base of 1.17 million and is adding 40,000 savings accounts every month."

The advances of the bank grew by 58 per cent to Rs 6,335 crore (Rs 4,019 crore). On the deposits front, the bank's savings-account deposits rose by 51 per cent to Rs 972 crore (Rs 644 crore), while current-account deposits increased by 22 per cent to Rs 873 crore (Rs 713 crore).

The provisions and contingencies were at Rs 2.09 crore (Rs 41.87 crore). The capital adequacy ratio of the bank was at 9.29 per cent as on June 30, 2002, compared with 10.65 per cent as on March 31, 2002. "We are looking at raising the capital in the second half of the year and have already started talks. We will raise another 15 per cent paid-up capital," said Nayak.

Nayak expects the bank's debit-card customer base, which is at present 65,000, will touch one lakh shortly.