OBC profit rises on strong credit growth

BANKING SCORECARD

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), a state-owned lender, said the first-quarter profit rose 48 per cent on higher credit demand from companies and individuals.

Net income rose to Rs 139 crore in the three months ended June 30 from Rs 94.02 crore a year earlier, the bank said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Revenue, or interest income and non-interest income combined, rose to Rs 1,680 crore from Rs 1,304 crore a year earlier.

Banks are gaining from increasing demand for credit from companies and individuals in an economy that the government estimates will grow 9 per cent in the year to next March. 
 

Performance during quarter ended June 2007
Rs crore	Oriental  Bank		Andhra Bank		Vijaya Bank		Syndicate Bank
	2007	% chg	2007	% chg	2007	% chg	2007	% chg
Interest earned	1,534	35.1	989.4	30.2	898.2	46.4	1,846.30	50
Other income	146	13.3	112.5	10.4	68.5	20.9	153.1	14.1
Expenditure	1,355	42.2	878.6	34.1	795.5	57.5	1,684.80	58.5
Operating profit	325	7.4	223.4	8.2	171.3	12.2	314.5	4.2
Net profit	139.2	48	141.1	21.2	111.4	53.3	221	22.4
EPS (Rs)	5.56	10.3	2.91	21.3	2.57	52.9	4.23	22.2
CAR (%)		13.85% from 12.1%		12.49% from 14.38%		11.21% from 11.55%		4.23% from 3.46%

Reuters adds: The bank also hopes to maintain its deposit growth of 17 per cent during 2007-08, Chairman Alok Misra told reporters.

The bank planned to raise about Rs 500 crore in debt by March 2008 to sustain 19 per cent loan growth for the current financial year, Misra said.

"We hope to improve the net interest margin from the present 2.7 per cent," Misra said, but did not offer profit projections.