Federal Bank shares hit 52-week high

New Delhi: Shares of private sector lender Federal Bank zoomed 9.50 per cent and climbed to 52-week high levels on the bourses on Friday after the company reported a 9 per cent jump in net profit in the December quarter. The stock surged 9.50 per cent to settle at Rs 270.35 on the BSE. During the day, it zoomed 10.57 per cent to hit the 52-week high of Rs 273. At the NSE, the firm’s shares jumped 9.47 per cent to Rs 270.25. In intraday trade it touched a 52-week high of Rs 278.40 apiece. Federal Bank on Friday reported a 9 per cent jump in net profit in the December quarter to Rs 1,041 crore, helped by a growth in non-interest income. The Kerala-headquartered bank had earned a net profit of Rs 955 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Its core net interest income rose 9 per cent to Rs 2,653 crore, an all-time high, on the back of a 9 per cent loan growth and a 0.07 per cent expansion in the net interest margin to 3.18 per cent. Non-interest income grew 20 per cent to Rs 1,100 crore during the reporting quarter, a major factor for the rise in profits. On the asset quality front, the bank’s gross non-performing assets ratio improved to 1.72 per cent, as against 1.95 per cent a year ago. The fresh slippages reduced to Rs 435 crore from Rs 579 crore.