UCO Bank loss widens to Rs 1,016.43 cr in Q3

Kolkata :  State-run UCO Bank on Friday reported a loss of Rs 1,016.43 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, as compared to a loss of Rs 437.09 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Higher provisions for bad assets ate into the bank’s bottomline and the rise in net loss during the December quarter was also due to a 58.5 per cent fall in operating profit over last year.

The lender said its interest income during the quarter was Rs 3,449.55 crore, as against Rs 4192.47 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

Provisions other than tax and contingencies during the quarter were at Rs 1,385.38 crore, compared to Rs 1,326.05 crore in the same quarter previous year.

The Kolkata-based bank’s asset quality worsened further in the December quarter against last year.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) in absolute term rose 14.43 per cent over last year at Rs 25,382.40 crore, while gross NPA as a percentage of total loans rose to 20.64 per cent in the October-December period this fiscal from 17.18 per cent during the same period of the previous fiscal.

Net NPA ratio also rose to 10.90 per cent from 8.99 per cent in the year-ago period.

Return on assets, a key parameter considered by the regulator for banks placed under the Prompt Corrective Action framework, further deteriorated for the lender to minus 1.75 per cent compared to minus 0.77 per cent in the same quarter previous year.

In the filing to the exchanges on Friday, the lender said it was permitted by the RBI to apportion the provision of Rs 439.78 crore required to be made in two large corporate accounts in the third and fourth quarters of this fiscal.

“Out of the above provision requirement, bank made a provision of Rs 220.28 crore during the third quarter,” it said.

During the quarter, the central government has infused Rs 1,375 crore by way of preferential allotment of equity shares. The board of the bank on Friday decided to consider further preferential allotment of shares to the government amounting to Rs 5,132 crore.

IANS