City-based United Bank of India has posted a net profit of Rs 41.78 crore in the third quarter of current fiscal against a loss of Rs 1,238 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal year.
The bank's operating profit during the quarter increased 10 per cent to Rs 603 crore as against Rs 545 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal.
UBI Managing Director and CEO P Srinivas said that the bank was still facing lending restrictions imposed by the RBI after it posted losses.
"We can extend credit to on AA+, AA and above rated corporates. So out credit offtake areas will be SME, tea gardens and retail", he told reporters here today.
He said that RBI had permitted the bank to recruit 700 officers and 500 clerks.
This quarter, slippages were on the higher side and compared to previous quarters at Rs 1,600 crore, he said.
"The bank is pursuing for recovery and stressed corporate accounts are being restructured", he said.
Srinivas said that the bank was expecting capital infusion from the government by March.
As far as bank's asset quality is concerned, gross NPAs as a percentage to total advances rose to 12.03 per cent from 10.82 per cent in the same quarter an year ago.
"Our aim to reduce the gross NPA to less than ten per cent by next quarter," Srinivas said.
The bank's net NPAs went up to 8.50 per cent from 7.44 per cent at the end of December 2013.
Gross NPA in absolute terms, however, declined to Rs 7,809.38 crore as compared to Rs 8,545.50 crore at the end of December 2013.
As a result, total provisions, excluding for income tax, made during the third quarter of 2014-15 came down to Rs 520.42 crore as against Rs 1,857.83 crore in the year-ago period.
Total income declined marginally to Rs 2,934.66 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2014-15 from Rs 2,986.80 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
Total business at the end of the third quarter stood at Rs 1,70,005 crore.
Shares of the bank closed down by 1.07 per cent at Rs 37.10 on the BSE.
