Power Finance Corp Q4 net at Rs 936 cr on lower provisions

State-run Power Finance Corp (PFC) on Friday posted a net profit of Rs 935.6 crore for the fourth quarter ending in March on the back of improved interest income and reduction in expenses.

The company had posted a loss of Rs 3,409.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal owing to high provisions for bad loans, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

Reflecting, however, the ongoing woes of the Indian power sector, PFC profit after tax fell sequentially by 41.7 per cent as compared to the Rs 1,604 earned during the October-December quarter.

PFC expenses during the fourth quarter dropped 43 per cent to Rs 4,931.09, as compared to Rs 8,606.30 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Provisions for bad loans stood at Rs 307.01 crore during the quarter in consideration, as compared to Rs 4,479.33 crore a year ago.

The quarter in question saw a reversal of Rs 1,747.6 crore in provisions on restructured standard assets and an increase of Rs 2,049 crore in the non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans.

The net NPAs ratio stood at 7.39 per cent at the end of the January-March quarter, against 4.39 per cent in the previous quarter, with the company shifting its reporting as per new guidelines from the Reserve bank of India (RBI).

The PFC Board of Directors also declared a second interim dividend at Rs 1.8 per share.

The PFC stock closed on Friday at Rs 75.75 a share, up 0.20 points, or by 0.26 per cent, over its previous close on the BSE.

--IANS

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