Punjab National Bank Reports Profit Of Rs 507 Crore In September Quarter

Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Tuesday reported a profit of Rs 507.05 crore for the quarter ended September 30. Delhi-based state-owned PNB had reported a net loss of Rs 4,532.35 crore for the corresponding period a year ago. The return of profit was on account of lower provisioning for bad loans. Shares in Punjab National Bank, which traded on a flat to positive note in morning deals, fell more than 4 per cent during the session after the earnings announcement. 

PNB's net interest income - the difference between interest earned and interest expended - stood at Rs 4,263.84 crore in the second quarter of current financial year, according to its regulatory filing to stock exchanges. That marked an increase of 7.29 per cent as against its NII of Rs 3,974.11 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2018.

Punjab National Bank's asset quality deteriorated in the second quarter of current financial year. Its gross non-performing assets stood at Rs 79,458.09 crore in the July-September period as against Rs 77,267.29 crore in the previous quarter, according to the regulatory filing.

As a percentage of total advances, PNB's gross non-performing assets (NPA) came in at 16.76 per cent in the quarter ended September 30, as against 16.49 per cent in the previous quarter.

Net NPAs as a percentage of total advances stood at 7.65 per cent in Q2, as against 7.17 per cent in the June quarter.

Punjab National Bank's provisioning for bad loans fell 58 per cent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 3,253.32 crore in the July-September period. 

At 1:59 pm, Punjab National Bank shares traded 2.93 per cent lower at Rs 66.20 apiece on the BSE, underperforming the benchmark Sensex index which was down 0.26 per cent.