JKB reports 12.4% increase in profit

Excelsior Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Feb 11: Jammu and Kashmir Bank today reported a 12.4 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 117.6 crore for the third quarter ended December despite an increase in provisions for bad loans.
The figure was Rs 104.6 crore in October-December of 2014-15.
However, total income decreased to Rs 1,806 crore in the reporting quarter, from Rs 1,849.4 crore in the same period last fiscal, the bank said in a statement.
The total provisions excluding income tax rose to Rs 239.7 crore as against Rs 220.4 crore in the year-ago period.
Gross NPA as a percentage of total advances rose significantly to 6.81 per cent, from 5.81 per cent a year earlier.
However, the bank’s net NPA declined 2.60 per cent, from 3.22 per cent at the end of December 2014.
The J&K Government holds 53.17 per cent stake in the bank.
Net interest margin (NIM) of the lender for the quarter stood at 3.85 per cent while the NPA coverage ratio was 66.18 per cent.
Jammu and Kashmir Bank Chairman Mushtaq Ahmad said: “In the given circumstances wherein the entire banking industry, especially public sector banks, is reeling under the growing volumes of bad loans, we are better.”
It’s going to take some more time when the economic situation improves and the next 3-4 quarters may call for some painful decisions across the banking spectrum of the country, he added.