PNB posts 21% decline in Q4 net profit

NEW DELHI: Punjab National Bank reported a 21 per cent decline in its net profit for the January-March quarter because of higher provisioning for non-performing loans.

The company's share price rose 4.7 per cent on Thursday, highest for all Nifty stocks, even as broader market declined because of better-than-expected asset quality numbers. "We took a conscious decision to consolidate our balance sheet and focus on bottom line rather than top line growth," PNB chairman and MD KR Kamath said.

The state-run bank posted a net profit of Rs 1,131 crore in the quarter against Rs 1,424 crore in the same period last fiscal.