State-run United Bank of India (UBI) on Monday said it has posted a net profit of Rs95.18 crore in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2018-19 (FY19), after seven quarters of consecutive losses.

The lender had reported a net loss of Rs260.62 crore in the March quarter of the fiscal year 2017-18 (FY18).

According to a regulatory filing, the lender is also planning to raise equity capital not exceeding Rs 1,500 crore in one or more trenches during the current financial year by way of Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP), public or right issues or such other capital issues.

The Kolkata-headquartered lender earned an operating profit of Rs540 crore in January-March quarter ofA FY19, registering a growth of 41 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis from Rs 383 crore in the third quarter of the last fiscal.A Its net interest margin (NIM) improved to 2.43 per cent in Q4.

The lender’s gross non-performing assets, in absolute term, stood at Rs 12,053.38 crore by end of the March quarter of FY19, down from Rs 14,737.61 crore by end December, 2018 while the net NPAs were at Rs5,785.61 crore as on March 31, 2019, down from Rs 7,489.89 crore in December quarter end.AA By end of the FY19, gross NPAs as a percentage of total loan was at 16.48 per cent, down from 21.27 per cent in December quarter and net NPAs as a percentage of total loans stood at 8.67 per cent, also down from 12.08 per cent from the quarter ended December 31, 2018.

The bank said provision for bad loans increased to Rs 1,927.10 crore in the quarter ended March, 31, 2019 from Rs 1,801.51 crore in December quarter.

Indo-Asian News Service