Punjab National Bank net profit falls 62% in Q4, stock down

Punjab National Bank, country's fifth-biggest lender by assets, said quarterly net profit fell 62 per cent as provisions for bad loans were sharply higher.

The New Delhi-based bank said standalone net profit plunged to Rs 307 crore ($48 million) for its fiscal fourth quarter to end-March, from Rs 806 crore a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected a net profit of Rs 836 crore, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans rose to 6.55 per cent from 5.97 per cent in the previous quarter and 5.25 per cent a year earlier. Provisions, including for bad loans, surged 79 per cent to Rs 3,834 crore from a year earlier.

Shares in Punjab National Bank fell more than 6 per cent after the results.

(Reuters)