Corporation Bank declined on Wednesday from its higher levels on selling pressure following the bank's Q4 results falling far below analysts' expectations.

By 12:55 IST, the scrip of the state-run bank was down by 0.58% at Rs 163.05 on the BSE, off its high of Rs 174.45, but recovering from its low of Rs 160.55. Over 422,000 Corporation Bank shares changed hands on the counter.

The weakness on the CBL counter was purely due to the dismal Q4 results of the bank, which fell far below analysts' projections.

In the afternoon, CBL unveiled its fourth quarter as well as full year results for the period ended 31 March 2003.

For Q4, CBL recorded a flat net profit of Rs 47.28 crore on a total income Rs 656.94 crore (Rs 6.56 billion).

The net profit of Rs 47.28 crore was far below the capitalmarket.com poll estimate of five analysts, who had forecast a net profit in the range of Rs 67 crore and Rs 102 crore (Rs 1.02 billion).

Dealers said the fall in the CBL scrip was on knee-jerk reaction after the results.

For FY 2002-03, CBL registered a 35% rise in net profit to Rs 415.99 crore (Rs 4.15 billion) on a 13.2% increase in total income to Rs 2,634.28 crore (Rs 26.34 billion). On a consolidated basis, for the year ended 31 March 2003, it recorded a net profit of Rs 438.11 crore (Rs 4.38 billion) on a total income of Rs 2,733.63 crore (Rs 27.33 billion).

Meanwhile, the bank recommended a dividend of 45% for FY 2002-03.

As on 31 March 2003, the government holding in CBL was at 57.17%, while institutions and the public held 37.98% and 4.85% respectively.

BSE code: 532179