UCO Bank Q3 net loss shrinks 71% to Rs 437 cr

Public lender UCO Bank's net loss narrowed by a huge 71 per cent to Rs 437.09 crore for the quarter ended December on lower provisions for bad loans.
The bank had posted a net loss of Rs 1,497.01 crore for the same quarter in the previous fiscal.
Net income fell 1.4 per cent to Rs 4,864.21 crore during the quarter, from Rs 4,934.63 crore a year ago.
Provisions to cover bad loans and contingencies were at Rs 1,326.05 crore, down from Rs 2,360.84 crore in the previous fiscal.
But the bank continued to grapple with high bad loan ratio, with gross net-performing assets firming up to 17.18 per cent of gross advances as on December 31, from 10.98 per cent a year earlier.

Net NPAs came in at 8.09 per cent, up from 6.51 per cent, on a yearly basis.

In absolute terms, gross NPAs rose to Rs 22,181.26 crore for the period from the earlier Rs 14,931.80 crore. Net NPAs were Rs 10,544.98 crore as against the previously Rs 8,409.50 crore.
During the quarter, UCO Bank raised Rs 750 crore by issuing Basel III compliant additional tier I bonds. It also allotted over 18.69 preference shares to the government for a capital infusion of Rs 775 crore.
The stock closed flat at Rs 34.40 on BSE today.