Indian Bank profit drops, misses estimate

Chennai: Indian Bank said fourth-quarter profit fell 21%, missing analysts’ estimates, as the lender had to make higher provisions for bad loans.

The bank posted a net profit of Rs 345.41 crore in the three months ended 31 March. A Bloomberg poll had estimated net profit at Rs 492 crore.

The Chennai-based bank’s interest income fell 29% to Rs1,013 crore in the quarter. That compares with analysts’ expectations of Rs 1,423.9 crore.

The state-run bank fell 8.5% to Rs 179.65 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The benchmark Sensex dropped 0.77 % to 16,292.98 points.

Public sector banks are facing pressure on bad loans and restructured assets and Indian Bank is no different but the fourth-quarter earnings were a big disappointment, said Vaibhav Agrawal, an analyst at Mumbai-based Angel Broking Ltd.