Vijaya Bank Q2 net stands Rs 105.25 cr

Bangalore Oct 24: Vijaya Bank today announced a net profit of Rs 216.60 crore for the first half of the current fiscal, recording a 23.8 per cent growth over the Net profit of Rs 174.96 crore earned during the first half of the corresponding previous year.

Announcing the H1 results of fiscal 2008 here, Bank Chairman and Managing Director Prakash P Mallya told newsmen here that the Bank was well on course to earn a net profit between Rs 425 to Rs 450 crore for the current fiscal with the business crossing the Rs 76,000 crore mark. ''The current growth trend should see the bank cross Rs 100,000 crore in business by 2009 end'' he added.

The Bank which has now transformed into a mid-sized Bank with the business crossing Rs 70,000 crore mark reported a net profit of Rs 105.25 crore during the second quarter ended September 2007 as against Rs 102.33 crore in the corresponding period last year, registering a 2.85 per cent increase.

Mr Mallya who expressed satisifaction over the Bank's performance during the first six months of the fiscal despite the poor credit off take said the second half should see an enhanced business taking the credit growth to 24 per cent as against 18 per cent witnessed during the first half. ''We did have a good credit growth but not to the anticipated level'' he said, attributing the reason to the general sluggishness in credit off take in the industry.

He said thanks to the use of Information Technology, the establishment cost to gross income had come down from 12.74 per cent since September last fiscal, to 9.24 per cent as on September 30, 2007. Eightysix per cent of the bank's business was currently through core banking solution (CBS) offered in 550 branches. By the end of the current fiscal the number of branches under CBS should cross 675, he added.

UNI