Dhanlaxmi Bank posts Rs 119 cr loss

KOCHI: Thrissur-based private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank has reported a net loss of Rs 119.37 crore in the third quarter ended on December 31, 2013, compared to a profit of Rs 4.39 crore a year ago.
The bank had to set apart Rs 111.76 crore in the third quarter as provisions and contingencies, sharply higher than its prior-year quarter provisions of Rs 9.71 crore.
Total income dropped 7% to Rs 327.52 crore from Rs 352.11 crore last year. Interest earned was Rs 312.44 crore as against Rs 324.65 crore in the same quarter of previous fiscal. Total expenditure came in at Rs 335.13 crore, down from Rs 338.01 crore a year earlier.
Net non-performing assets (NPAs) grew to Rs 350.22 crore from Rs 216.02 crore in the comparable period of the previous fiscal.
"The strategic investment made in Destimoney Securities Pvt Ltd, a securities trading company, in February 2011, for Rs 1224.49 lakh has been written down to its fair value of Rs 361.80 lakh based on the last audited financials of the company as on March 31, 2013," said a note by P G Jayakumar, MD and CEO of the bank.
He also said for "the provision requirement of Rs 5,557 lakh suggested in the annual financial inspection report 2013, the bank has been allowed time up to March 31, 2014 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)".