Punjab National Bank Q2 Results: Net Profit Sinks 63 Per cent To Rs 411 Crore On Higher Provisions

PNB in its regulatory filing said that the total income in the second quarter of the current fiscal increased to Rs 23,001.26 crore as against Rs 21,262.32 in the July-September period a year ago.

State-run lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) saw a 63 per cent drop in its standalone net profit to Rs 411 crore in second quarter (Q2). The bank had logged a net profit of Rs 1,105 crore in the year-ago period. The report said that the decline in profits of the September quarter was on the accounts of higher provisioning for bad loans.

PNB in its regulatory filing said that the total income in the second quarter of the current fiscal year increased to Rs 23,001.26 crore as against Rs 21,262.32 in the July-September period a year ago. 

In the same quarter, the lender's interest income also rose to Rs 20,154 crore from Rs 17,980 crore compared to the same period last year. The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) declined to 10.48 per cent of the gross advances from 13.36 per cent earlier, the report said.

In absolute terms, the gross NPAs, also known as bad loans, stood at Rs 87,034.79 crore at the end of the second quarter of FY23, compared to Rs 1,00,290.85 crore a year earlier. The net NPA also declined from 5.49 per cent to 3.80 per cent.

However, the report pointed out that provisions for bad loans increased from Rs 2,692.74 crore a year ago to Rs 3,555.98 crore in the July-September quarter of FY23.

On Monday, Punjab National Bank also announced a hike in their marginal cost of funds-based lending rates (MCLRs). PNB hiked MCLRs across tenors by 30 basis points. PNB in its regulatory filing said that the MCLR with effect from November 1, 2022, shall be revised with the benchmark one-year tenor rate at 8.05 percent as against the 7.75 percent existing rate.