PNB Q4 net slumps 62 percent as bad loans hurt

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Punjab National Bank, India's fifth-biggest lender by assets, said quarterly net profit fell 62 percent as provisions for bad loans were sharply higher.

The New Delhi-based bank said standalone net profit plunged to 3.07 billion rupees ($48 million) for its fiscal fourth quarter to end-March, from 8.06 billion rupees a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected a net profit of 8.36 billion rupees, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans rose to 6.55 percent from 5.97 percent in the previous quarter and 5.25 percent a year earlier. Provisions, including for bad loans, surged 79 percent to 38.34 billion rupees from a year earlier.

 

Shares in Punjab National Bank fell more than 6 percent after the results.

($1 = 63.9900 rupees)

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)