Punjab National Bank (PNB), India's second largest government-owned lender by assets, reported a surprise profit in October-December quarter, aided by lower provisioning for bad loans. Punjab National Bank's net profit rose 7.12 per cent annually to Rs 246.51 crore, according to a regulatory filing by the lender. The net profit surprised analysts amid expectations of a net loss. Analysts had on an average estimated the bank's loss at Rs 1,063 crore, news agency Reuters reported citing Refinitiv Eikon data.
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The profit came on account of a sharp drop in provisions for bad loans. The provisions declined 67 per cent to Rs 2,565.77 crore versus Rs 7,733.27 crore in the previous quarter.
"We are back in (the) black, after 100 per cent provisions for all our commitments," PNB chief executive Sunil Mehta said in an earnings briefing. He also said the recovery of about Rs 16,000 crore in the quarter helped the bank improve its performance.
During the quarter, the bank's asset quality improved as its percentage of gross non-performing assets declined to 16.33 per cent from 17.16 per cent sequentially and the percentage of net non-performing assets declined to 8.22 per cent from 8.90 per cent in the September quarter.
Punjab National Bank also said that in the December quarter, it provided Rs 2,014.04 crore to make full provisions for the fraud which was detected at its Brady House branch in quarter ended March 2018.
The bank reported losses for three straight quarters following the scam, on account of higher provisions. This included the biggest ever quarterly loss for an Indian bank in the March quarter last year.
(With agency inputs)
