Date:26/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/26/stories/2008042655481400.htm

Business

State Bank of Travancore net profit up 18 %

Special Correspondent

Board recommends 100 per cent dividend for the third consecutive year

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State Bank of Travancore (SBT) posted a net profit of Rs. 386.11 crore in 2007-08, which is 18.3 per cent more than the net profit of Rs. 326.28 crore recorded in the previous year.

The bank’s board has decided to offer the shareholders a dividend of 100 per cent for the year. This is the third consecutive year the bank is offering cent per cent dividend, the bank’s Managing Director (in charge) M. Ramaswamy said at a press conference here on Wednesday evening.

Interest income rose 27.63 per cent to reach Rs. 3,434.11 crore and non-interest income 20.69 per cent to Rs. 438.75 crore. Total income grew by 26.81 per cent from Rs. 3,054.16 crore in 2006-07 to Rs. 3,872.85 crore in 2007-08, Mr. Ramaswamy said.

The earnings per share increased from Rs. 652.56 to Rs. 772.22.

The bank brought down the gross non-performing assets from 2.16 per cent to 2.01 per cent and the net non-performing assets from 1.08 per cent to 0.95 per cent during 2007-08. Total business grew by Rs. 7,876.61 crore to Rs. 63,490.51 crore, with deposits increasing by Rs. 4,369.88 crore to Rs. 35,353.89 crore and advances by Rs. 3,506.73 crore to Rs. 28,136.62 crore.

Mr. Ramaswamy said more than 1.56 lakh accounts were opened in 2007-08 under the no-frills Janapriya savings account scheme intended to bring the poor people also into the banking system.

The SBT continues to be the market leader in Kerala with a share of 15 per cent of the total number of bank branches and 23 per cent of the total banking business, Mr. Ramaswamy said.