By IANS,
Bangalore : State-run Canara Bank posted a net profit of Rs.15.65 billion ($391 million) for 2007-08 against Rs.14.21 billion of the previous fiscal, registering a 10 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth.
Net profit for the fourth quarter (January-March) of the fiscal, however, dipped by eight percent to Rs.4.64 billion from Rs.5.05 billion of the same quarter of previous fiscal (2006-07), the bank said in a statement here Saturday.
“An increase of Rs.500 million in tax expense and Rs.3.75 billion towards provisioning and contingencies during the fourth quarter impacted our bottom-line marginally,” Canara Bank chairman M.B.N. Rao told reporters at a briefing on the bank’s performance for fiscal 2008.
Total income for last fiscal grew by 28 percent YoY to Rs.164.14 billion from Rs.128.16 billion. For the fourth quarter, the income grew by 14 percent YoY to Rs.7.14 billion from Rs.6.26 billion of the year-ago period.
Though operating profit for fiscal 2008 increased marginally by 1.6 percent YoY to Rs.29.59 billion from Rs.29.12 billion, the same declined by 10.7 percent YoY to Rs.9.39 billion in the last quarter from Rs.10.52 billion.
The bank’s total expenditure for the fiscal also increased by 36 percent YoY to Rs.135 billion from Rs.99.03 billion year ago and by 28 percent in the fourth quarter to Rs.35.63 billion from Rs.27.85 billion.
“We have shed preferential rate deposits by 24 percent to minimise the impact on our aggregate deposits, which increased by eight percent YoY (Rs.117 billion) to Rs.1.54 trillion during the fiscal from Rs.1.42 trillion,” Rao said.
“Similarly, we have also rebalanced advances portfolio by pruning low-yielding loans. As a result, net advances increased by nearly nine percent (Rs.87.32 billion) to Rs.1.07 trillion in the last fiscal,” he added.
The bank’s global business increased to Rs.2.61 trillion in the fiscal from Rs.2.41 trillion, registering 8.5 percent YoY growth.
The bank has proposed a dividend of 80 percent for the fiscal against 70 percent for the previous fiscal.
Earnings per share (EPS) improved to Rs.38.17 from Rs.34.65 year ago while book value rose to Rs.202.33 from Rs.197.83 year ago.