Vijaya Bank Dec quarter net plummets 91% to Rs 11.39 crore

Vijaya Bank today reported 91.1 per cent drop in net profit at Rs 11.39 crore for the October- December quarter due to higher provisioning for bad loans and rise in operating expenses.

The Bangalore-based public sector lender had posted net profit of Rs 126.73 crore for the same quarter of last fiscal, 2012-13.

The bank's total income in the third quarter ended December 31, 2013 increased to Rs 2,874.60 crore, from Rs 2,357.05 crore in the year-ago period, the bank said in a BSE filing.

Provisions other than tax and contingencies during the quarter increased to Rs 159.41 crore as against Rs 102.72 crore in the same period of last fiscal.

At the same time, operating expense of the bank rose to Rs 456.39 crore during the quarter as compared to Rs 319.18 crore.

As of December 31, bank's portfolio quality improved, with gross NPAs (Non-Performing Assets) rising to 2.67 per cent of gross advances, as against 2.91 per cent a year ago.

Its net NPAs during the third quarter declined to 1.57 per cent, from 1.71 per cent in the period a year earlier.

During the three quarters (April-December) of 2013-14, the bank's net profit declined by 22 per cent to Rs 280.07 crore, as against Rs 361.46 crore in same period of 2012-13.

Its total income rose to Rs 8,387.03 crore for the nine months, from Rs 6,978.68 crore in the year-ago period. Shares of Vijaya Bank were trading at Rs 36.55 a piece, down 1.62 per cent on the BSE.