PNB Q3 net nosedives 93% to Rs 51 cr

Punjab National Bank (PNB) today reported a 93.41% decline in net profit at Rs 51.01 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, on account of higher provisioning for bad loans.

PNB, the country's second-largest public sector bank by assets had reported net profit of Rs 774.58 crore for the October-December quarter of the 2014-15 fiscal.

The total income increased to Rs 13,891.2 crore for the quarter ended December, up 7.64%, from Rs 12,904.85 crore in the same quarter last financial year.

Gross NPAs as a percentage to total advances rose to 8.47% from 5.97% in the same quarter an year ago.

Net non-performing assets (NPAs) went up to 5.86% from 3.82% at the end of December 2014, the bank said.

Total provisions, excluding for income tax, made during the third quarter of 2015-15 grew by over two and a half fold to Rs 3,775.53 crore as against Rs 1,467.77 crore in the year-ago period.

Reacting to the bank's quarterly numbers, PNB's shares declined by 4.56% to Rs 90.05 on BSE.