J&K Bank profit up by 11 pc

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 8: J&K Bank today posted a net profit of Rs 321.29 cr for the quarter ended December 2013, which is up by 11.02 percent from Rs 289.40 cr earned during the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.
The Bank announced its financial results for the third quarter today following the approval of its Board of Directors in a meeting held at Jammu.
The advances during the Q3 grew by 21.48 percent to Rs 43317.84 cr from Rs 35657.69 cr as recorded during the corresponding period of the previous year.
The deposits increased by 10.66 percent and reached Rs 63157.11 cr as against Rs 57,074.55 cr recorded for the corresponding period of previous year.
The total business of the Bank reached Rs 106474.95 cr, which is up by 14.82 percent when compared to Rs 92,732 cr recorded during the corresponding period of the previous year.
The net profit for the nine months ended December 31, 2013 increased by 15.76 percent as it jumped to Rs 931.87 cr from Rs 805.02 cr registered during the corresponding period of the previous year.
The Gross and Net NPA ratios of the Bank during the quarter have been recorded at 1.65 percent and 0.22 percent respectively which are among the best ratios in the industry.
The NPA Coverage ratio of the Bank during the quarter is 90.24 percent.
The Earnings per Share jumped to Rs 66.28 during the quarter which is up by 11.04 percent from Rs 59.69 recorded during the corresponding period of the previous year. Return on Assets (RoA) has increased to 1.88 percent.
Commenting on the Q3 results, Chairman and CEO Mushtaq Ahmad said, “In spite of the economic distress the bank has reported growth. Our strategy to maintain a quality asset book has been fruitful so far.”
“Our results sound reasonably fine amid the squeaks of stress in asset-quality of banks across the industry coupled with adverse macro-economic conditions persisting in the country. In such a scenario, our focus too has been more on maintaining quality of assets rather than raising the numbers”, he said.
“With elections looming amid economic downturn, we feel the going would get tougher for at least couple of quarters to come. Yet we feel confident to deliver growth around 15 % besides preserving our key quality parameters,” the Chairman said.
“Moving ahead with the policy of expansion, in the past three quarters we have opened 73 Business Units and commissioned 154 ATMs,” he added.
The Chairman said, “Agriculture and handicrafts shall continue to be our focus in lending within the State”.
However, amid shrinking industrial output across the country, the entrepreneurial and industrial activity within the State looks poised to pick up. “Going forward, we plan to lend aggressively to build its momentum within the State”, he said.

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