Canara Bank saw its net profit drop by nearly 16 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2013-14 even as its total income rose by almost 23 per cent.
The net profit was Rs.610.83 crore as against Rs.725.38 crore in the year-ago period. Total income rose to Rs.11,609.72 crore from Rs.9,471.57 crore on the back of higher provisioning besides an increase in total expenses.
In 2013-14, the bank added 1,072 branches, taking the total to 4,755.
It also opened a never before 2,786 ATMs, which took the number of such facilities to 6,312.
The net profit dropped by 15 per cent to Rs.2,438.19 crore in 2013-14 from Rs.2,872.10 crore in 2012-13. Total income went up by 16.7 per cent to Rs.43,480.37 crore from Rs.37,230.94 crore, while net interest income at Rs.8,944 crore increased by 13.5 per cent.
ProvisioningAddressing presspersons here, Chairman and Managing Director R. K. Dubey said the profits would have been higher but for the increase in provisioning.
The provision for NPA was Rs.2,135 crore (Rs.1,861 crore), while the total provision made in 2013-14 was Rs.4,358 crore (Rs.3,018 crore).
It included a provisioning of Rs.700 crore for the mark-to-market losses due to the change in RBI norms in July last year, he said.
Final dividendThe net NPA ratio came down in 2013-14 to 1.98 per cent (2.18 per cent), while cash recovery aggregated Rs.5,494 crore (Rs.4,006 crore).
The board recommended a final dividend of Rs.4.50 per share. With the interim dividend declared on January 20 this year being Rs.6.50 per share, the total dividend for 2013-14 works out to Rs.11 per share. Mr. Dubey said the thrust of the bank would be on asset quality, NPA reduction, more recovery, CASA, retail business and fee income. A release said adequate headroom was available to raise capital to support business growth momentum. The bank proposes to raise additional equity capital amounting to Rs.1,500 crore by way of qualified institutional placement or through preferential allotment during the current fiscal.
