Public sector Dena Bank has reported widening of net losses to Rs 721.71 crore for the first quarter ended June............

New Delhi : Public sector Dena Bank has reported widening of net losses to Rs 721.71 crore for the first quarter ended June of the current fiscal as bad loans surged significantly. The bank had registered a net loss of Rs 132.65 crore in the April-June period of last fiscal, 2017-18.     Its total income during the quarter under review also fell by 8 per cent to Rs 2,410.01 crore, as against Rs 2,620.28 crore in the year-ago period, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

The interest income for the quarter also fell to Rs 2,248.62 crore, from Rs 2,382.99 crore.     Dena Bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans, as a percentage of gross loans, spiked to 22.69 per cent as on June 30, 2018 compared with 17.37 per cent a year ago. In value terms, they mounted to Rs 15,866.11 crore, up from Rs 12,994.16 crore.However, the ratio of net NPAs fell to 11.04 per cent (Rs 5,704.31 crore) as against 11.22 per cent (Rs 7,797.16 crore).

Thus, the provisioning coverage for bad assets in the June quarter also increased to Rs 1,244.16 crore, from Rs 434.58 crore parked aside in same period of 2017-18.     The overall provisions and contingencies were at Rs 1,115.75 crore for April-June, 2018-19 as against Rs 522.48 crore in the same period of 2017-18.     The provision coverage ratio is 65.70 per cent as on June 30, 2018.     Dena Bank stock was trading Rs 3.38 per cent up at Rs 16.80 on BSE in the afternoon. PTI