Karnataka Bank Q4 net jumps nearly 6-fold to Rs 62 cr

Karnataka Bank Monday posted close to a six-fold jump in net profit at Rs 61.73 crore during March quarter 2019.

The bank clocked a profit of Rs 11 crore during January-March period of 2017-18. The profit was however lower from Rs 140.41 crore reported in December quarter 2018-19.

Total income during the latest quarter grew 4.85 per cent to Rs 1,821.88 crore from Rs 1,737.55 crore in year-ago same period, Karnataka Bank said in a regulatory filing.

Net interest income dipped 11.20 per cent to Rs 480.88 crore in March quarter, as against Rs 541.51 crore in the year-ago period.

Net interest margin -- a gauge of profitability for banks--was lower by 67 basis points to 2.87 per cent for the latest quarter as against 3.54 per cent a year ago.

Karnataka Bank said its gross NPAs came down to 4.41 per cent of gross advances by end of March 2019 from 4.92 per cent by the year-ago same period.

Net bad loans were also down to 2.95 per cent from 2.96 per cent.

For full 2018-19 fiscal, Karnataka Bank posted an all-time high annual profit of Rs 477.24 crore, rising by 46.57 per cent from the previous fiscal, it said.

The previous highest net profit of Rs 452.26 crore was posted during 2016-17.

The bank's board on Monday recommended a dividend of Rs 3.50 per share for the fiscal, it said.

Bank's provision coverage ratio stood at 58.45 per cent as on March 31, 2019 (54.56 per cent as on March 31, 2018)