August 5: The net profit of Agriculture Development Bank decreased by about 24 percent in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year as compared to the same period of the previous year. The net profit of the bank amounted to more than Rs 3.52 billion the previous year, which dropped to just over Rs 2.69 billion last year.

Last year, the net profit of the bank was affected as the operating profit declined by 15.23 percent due to the higher impairment charge.

The impairment charge, which was more than Rs 12.14 million previous year, increased to more than Rs 29.51 million last year. As a result, the operating profit of the bank, which was Rs 5.3 billion in the previous year, dropped to just over Rs 4.11 billion last year. The bank's distributable profit till the last quarter was over Rs 3.90 billion.

By distributing 20 percent bonus shares, the paid-up capital of the bank reached Rs 13.18 billion. Last year, the bank collected 2.26 percent more deposits than the previous year while the credit flow increased by 155 percent. The bank collected more than Rs 166 billion in deposits and disbursed loans amounting to more than Rs 175 biillion last year. The non-performing loan which was 1.88 percent previous year, remained at 1.68 percent last year.