PNB Q1 net down 49% to Rs 721 crore

Pulled down by higher bad loan provisioning, country's second largest public sector lender PNB's net profit during the June quarter nearly halved to Rs 721 crore.

Punjab National Bank (PNB)'s first quarter net profit of current fiscal today showed a 48.68% decline from Rs 1,405 crore reported the same quarter of 2014-15 fiscal.

The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of the bank increased from Rs 25,397 crore in the June quarter of current fiscal as against Rs 19,603 crore in the same quarter of last fiscal as per data on the NSE.

The gross NPA of the bank as a percentage of total advances rose to 6.47% in the June quarter from 5.48% in the year ago period.

Provisioning during the quarter rose to Rs 1,811 crore, from Rs 928 crore in the June quarter of last fiscal.

Interest income of the bank rose to Rs 12,035 crore during the first quarter, up nearly 4% from Rs 11,589 crore in the three month of 2014-15.

Standalone total income of the bank rose to Rs 13,432 crore in June quarter, from Rs 12,825 crore in the same quarter of previous fiscal.

PNB's shares were trading 4.55%higher at Rs 141.30 on the NSE.