Karnataka Bank Shares Gain As Q3 Profit More Than Doubles

Shares of Karnataka Bank Ltd. gained the most in over five weeks since Dec. 26 after third-quarter profit more than doubled on improving operational efficiencies across businesses.

Karnataka Bank's third-quarter net profit jumped 118.49% year-on-year to Rs 826.49 crore, according to the exchange filing. The net interest income rose 34% year-on-year to Rs 834.76 crore.

The company's asset quality improved sequentially and annually, while deposits rose 7.86% annually to Rs 84,597 crore and net advances were up 12.51% year-on-year to Rs 62,532 crore.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mahabaleshwara M.S., reinstated the company's belief in managing the provision levels on the balance sheet as a growth driver for the future. The provision coverage ratio of the company rose to 80.21% as compared to 73.66% in the third quarter of the previous fiscal.

"Our pursuit for growth also drives our conservative approach to managing our balance sheet and provision levels, and our careful stance towards the expected deterioration in the global economy, and its potential fallout on the more robust Indian economy," he said.