Kolkata, May 13 (IANS): State-run UCO Bank on Friday posted a net loss of Rs.1,715.16 crore in the quarter ended March as compared to a net profit of Rs.209.28 crore in the year-ago period.

The loss was attributed to high provisions to cover huge surge in bad loans and low net interest income. The bank reported a net loss in the December quarter too.

In the quarter under review, the bank made a provision of Rs.2,344.88 crore for bad loans, up 142 percent from Rs.968.38 crore provisioned in the year-ago-period.

The lender's asset quality during the quarter deteriorated significantly with the non-performing assets (NPAs) in absolute term soaring by nearly 104 percent to Rs.20,907.73 crore compared to Rs.10,265.05 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.

Its gross NPA as a percentage of total loans rose to 15.43 percent in the fourth quarter from 6.76 percent a year ago.

The lender's operating profit dipped to Rs.567.66 crore during the quarter from Rs.1,227.27 crore as net interest income (NII) fell by close to 27 percent at Rs.933.11 crore and other income also declined by 41.5 percent at Rs.387.80 crore, the bank said in a filing to Bombay Stock Exchange. 

According to the filing, the bank said pursuant to the asset quality review (AQR) carried out by the Reserve Bank of India, the bank made classification of advances and provisions which was required to be done by March 31, 2016 as suggested.

The central bank had asked lenders to make adequate provisions for the stressed assets over the third and fourth quarters of the last fiscal.

At the end of March quarter, bank's net NPA ratio rose to 9.09 percent from 4.30 percent during the year-ago period. Its non-performing loan provisioning coverage ratio stood at 53.87 percent as on March 31, 2016.

Bank's scrip on Friday closed at Rs. 34.05, down 5.94 percent on BSE from the previous close.