
Kolkata-based public sector lender Uco Bank has reported 27% growth in net income at ₹638.83 crore in the December quarter buoyed by better asset quality, better margins and higher interest income as it sold more credit.
The core net interest income increased 19.6% to ₹2,377 crore and net interest margin, which is the key measure of profitability, rose to 3.17% from 2.84% a year ago, as the bank earned more yield from lending than paying for its funds.
Asset quality of the bank improved with gross non-performing assets coming down by 94 bps to 2.91% or ₹6,081.55 crore from ₹6,293.86 crore or 3.85%. Similarly net bad loans declined by 8.76% to ₹1,283.13 crore from ₹1,406.44 crore or stood at 0.63% from 0.98%, down 35 bps. This had the bank’s provision coverage ratio rising to 96.16%, managing director Ashwani Kumar said.
The business of the bank stood at ₹4,88,911 crore, showing an increase of 12.28%. Of this, deposits rose to ₹280,256 crore from ₹256,261 crore and gross at ₹208,655 crore, up from ₹179,195 crore.
Retail advances grew 31.01% to ₹50,055 crore led by home loans and vehicle loans which grew 19.35% and 51.93% respectively. Agriculture advances rose 20.04% to ₹28,033 crore, and loans to MSMEs increased 12.75% to ₹36,262 crore.
Meanwhile, Kumar said the board has approved a fundraise plan worth Rs 2,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) during the ongoing quarter to comply with Sebi's minimum public shareholding norms.
The government last week approved the QIP plan to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore.
The bank has already appointed merchant bankers and legal advisers for the QIP and started meeting investors, including mutual funds, he said, adding that at an opportune time, it would launch the QIP in this quarter. Post-QIP, the government holding will come down by 3% from 95.39% now. The government has extended the deadline for meeting minimum public shareholding norms for central units till August 2026.