Calcutta, July 31: Uco Bank earnings increased 36 per cent to Rs 61.50 crore in the first quarter from Rs 45 crore a year ago. Operating profit increased 29 per cent to Rs 233.70 crore from Rs 181 crore in the previous year.

The public sector bank has garnered a total business of Rs 92,609 crore as on June 30 this year, a growth of 21.9 per cent from Rs 75,964 crore a year ago. Deposits went up 17.6 per cent at Rs 55,595 crore (Rs 47,277 crore) and advances grew 29.02 per cent to Rs 37,014 crore (Rs 28,687 crore).

The bank aims at a total business of Rs 1,11,000 crore by the end of the current financial year. Of this, it is targeting a deposit base of Rs 65,000 crore and total advances at Rs 46,000 crore.

“To achieve this goal, we will strategically target the retail and small enterprises business segment,” the bank said in a statement.

Uco has been able to reduce gross non-performing assets to Rs 1,267 crore from Rs 1,362 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. Its net NPA level has correspondingly come down to Rs 763 crore from Rs 836 crore.

“The gross NPA as a percentage of gross advances now stands at 3.42 per cent (4.75 per cent) and net NPA at 2.09 per cent of net advances,” the statement said.

Recently, Uco Bank secured the RBI approval to set up a branch in China, which is likely to come up before the end of this fiscal.