Karnataka Bank shares plunge nearly 5 pc after Q3 earnings

Shares of Karnataka Bank on Friday tumbled nearly 5 per cent after the lender reported a 12 per cent decline in net profit for December 2019 quarter on account of rise in bad loans.

The scrip dropped 4.59 per cent to close at Rs 74.85 on the BSE. During the day, it plunged 5.35 per cent to Rs 74.25.

On the NSE, it tanked 4.46 per cent to close at Rs 74.95.

Karnataka Bank on Thursday reported a 12 per cent decline in its net profit at Rs 123.14 crore for the third quarter ending December 31, 2019, on account of rise in bad loans.

The Mangalore-headquartered bank had reported a net profit of Rs 140.41 crore in the year-ago period, the bank said in regulatory filing.

However, the total income of the bank rose to Rs 2,023.68 crore from Rs 1,815.79 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

The gross non-performing asset (NPA) rose to 4.99 per cent of assets from 4.45 per cent in the year-ago period.

Similarly, the net NPA increased to 3.75 per cent from 3 per cent during September-December 2018.