India's Punjab National Bank reported a year-over-year increase in net profit for the fiscal third-quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017, amid lower operating expenses.
The bank said net profit for the period jumped to 2.30 billion rupees from 2.07 billion rupees in the prior-year period. EPS climbed to 1.04 rupees from 97 paise.
The S&P Capital IQ consensus mean estimate for the fiscal third-quarter normalized EPS was 2.74 rupees. The S&P Capital IQ consensus GAAP EPS estimate for the quarter was 2.63 rupees, with three analysts reporting.
Interest earned for the period amounted to 121.75 billion rupees, up from 119.84 billion rupees in the year-ago quarter. Operating profit rose to 42.45 billion rupees from 27.81 billion rupees, while total income grew to 152.58 billion rupees from 141.24 billion rupees.
Total expenses excluding provisions and contingencies declined to 110.12 billion rupees from 113.43 billion rupees in the prior-year quarter. The bank's provisions and contingencies increased to 44.67 billion rupees from 25.62 billion rupees over the same period. The provision coverage ratio as of Dec. 31, 2017, stood at about 60.78%.
For the nine months ended December 2017, the bank's net profit rose year over year in the aggregate to 11.34 billion rupees, or 5.29 rupees per share, from 10.63 billion rupees, or 5.24 rupees per share, in the year-ago period.
As of Dec. 31, 2017, the Indian lender reported a gross nonperforming assets ratio of 12.11%, down from 13.31% as of Sept. 30, 2017, and from 13.70% as of Dec. 31, 2016. Its net NPA ratio clocked in at 7.55%, down from 8.44% at the end of September 2017 and from 9.09% at the end of December 2016.
The lender's capital adequacy ratio under Basel III came in 11.58%, compared to 11.56% at the end of September 2017 and to 11.62% at the end of December 2016. Its common equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 8.05%, up from 7.67% at the end of September 2017, but down from 8.31% at the end of December 2016.
As of Feb. 5, US$1 was equivalent to 64.06 Indian rupees.
