PNB rises as profit falls

Punjab National Bank (PNB) posted a set of dismal numbers for Q4FY14, with falling net profit, higher provisioning and increasing NPAs. Yet the stock today has decided to behave contrarian, remaining strongly in the green, currently up over 2.5% at Rs.820.70 and this is after hitting an intra day high at Rs.830. Its as though the poor numbers did not come through at all.

The bank, which announced its numbers yesterday, reported a 29% (YoY) drop in net profit at Rs.806 crore and the entire blame for this decline lay on higher provisioning. In fact provisioning for bad loans has risen 45% at Rs.2139 crore and this seriously dented the profits. Fresh slippages in the quarter were Rs.4,189 crore and loans restructured during the quarter were Rs.2,900 crore. Asset quality continues to remain bad with Gross NPA rising from 4.27% to 5.25% and Net NPA rising from 2.35% to 2.85% (YoY).