Mumbai, July 14: Actis — the UK-based venture capital fund— has sold its 5 per cent stake in UTI Bank for Rs 161 crore ($34.8 million).

Actis, formerly known as CDC Capital, reportedly sold its shares at Rs 130 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange to four or five foreign institutions, brokers said. The company has almost trebled its investment in the bank in three years.

UTI Bank’s shares closed the day at Rs 126.30 after touching an intra-day high of Rs 131 on the BSE. The day’s low was pegged at Rs 123.40. Some 12.4 million shares changed hands in three deals this morning.

Actis has been investing in select Indian companies and its investment in UTI Bank has been the best so far, having fetched three times the original sum.

Actis — formed out of CDC Capital Partners — had paid little less than Rs 150 crore for a 26 per cent stake in UTI Bank in December 2001.

It then sold a 14.62 per cent stake to HSBC Holdings Plc for $68 million in a high-profile acquisition that caught the attention of the Reserve Bank.

HSBC acquired the stake in UTI Bank at Rs 90 a share. It had an option of buying another 5.37 per cent of UTI Bank. However, the central bank capped its stake at 14.7 per cent.

Actis has investments worth $2.7 billion worldwide. It has pumped in about $300 million (Rs 1,400 crore) in India.

The company has invested in sectors as diverse as agro and automobiles, pharmaceuticals and paints. These include listed companies like Punjab Tractors, Swaraj Engines, Swaraj Mazda. Actis also has a stake in paints company ICI and mid-cap pharmaceuticals company Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.

Net up 35.44 %

UTI Bank has posted a 35.44 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 70.67 crore for the first quarter ended June 30 compared with Rs 52.18 crore in the corresponding previous period.

Total income, however, declined to Rs 535.49 crore from Rs 544.2 crore.

Net interest income for the quarter was Rs 165.00 crore compared with Rs 120.2 crore in the previous year. Lower cost of funds aided by the much higher share of demand deposits, together with the growth in assets, contributed to the 37 per cent rise in net interest income.

The advances grew to Rs 9,910 crore in June from Rs 6,827 crore in 2003 — a growth of 45 per cent.

Savings bank deposits registered a growth of 88 per cent at Rs 2,979 crore (Rs 1,587 crore in June 2003), while current account deposits rose to Rs 2,797 crore (Rs 2,074 crore).

Retail advances registered a significant jump at Rs 2,326 crore (Rs 1,212 crore).

The bank generated Rs 31.05 crore of trading profits in the first quarter (Rs 117.71 crore). The share of trading profits to the operating revenue declined from 44 per cent in the first quarter of the preceding year to 11 per cent.

UTI Bank ended the quarter with a capital adequacy ratio of 11.11 per cent and net non-performing assets at 1.16 per cent of net customer assets.

The bank has 286 branches and extension counters and opened its first set of five rural branches during the quarter.