MUMBAI, Nov 23: Dena Bank has clocked a 35 per cent growth in its net profit for April-September 1997 at Rs 61.72 crore. Dena had posted a net profit of Rs 45.51 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The operating profit of the bank registered a growth of 47 per cent during this period. It stood at Rs 127.55 crore in the first half of the current fiscal compared with Rs 82.01 crore in April-September 1996. The Dena Bank board met in Mumbai on Saturday to finalise the accounts.

Despite over Rs 100 crore worth of recovery of bad loans, the bank's net non-performing assets (NPA) has, however, gone up marginally during this period. In March 1997, Dena's net NPA was pegged at 9.38 per cent.

"The net spread has been under severe strain as we have brought the lending rates. Despite that, the bank has been able to register a substantial growth in net profit on account of higher investment income," a Dena Bank source said. The bank has slashed its prime lending rate last month by 75 basis points -- from 14 per cent to 13.25 per cent.

Its income in trading of government papers largely contributed to the profit growth in the first half. In percentage terms, Dena has posted the highest growth in net profit among the state-run banks in the first half of the current fiscal.It has also bucked the trend and registered 11 per cent credit growth in April-September. This is against the negative non-food credit growth in the banking industry in the first half of the current fiscal.

"If the bank's exposure in commerical paper and debentures are included, the growth in funds flow to the commerical sector was pegged at 15 per cent," sources said.

The Mumbai-based public sector bank which entered the capital market last year has expanded its advance portfolio by over Rs 500 crore in the first half.

In March 1997, the advance portfoilo stood at Rs 4325 crore.

In the corresponding period of the last year, the bank clocked a credit growth of Rs 38 crore. In April-September 1997 the deposits, in contrast, grew by about 14 per cent as against 7.4 per cent growth achieved during first half of the last finanacial year. In March 1997, the deposit liability of the bank was pegged at Rs 7669 crore.

The total investments of the bank touched the level of Rs 4599 crore in September 1997 from the March end level of Rs 3738 crore, up by 23 per cent as against 15.7 per cent achieved during the corresponding period of the last year.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.