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Oct 26, 2009 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's listed Seylan Bank group has reported profits of 397.



7 million rupees, up 292 percent from a year earlier, while its loan book continued to shrink and some provisions were reversed. Group interest income fell 10.9 percent to 5.9 billion rupees, while interest expense fell 17.

1 percent to 5.2 billion rupees, allowing net interest income to grow by 3.





68 percent to 1.89 billion rupees.

Seylan is run under a regulator backed board, after it was taken over following run, when an unregulated company in its controlling Ceylinco group collapsed late last year.

The new board has made large provisions and tightened costs.

The bank recently raised cash to boost capital.

The group's performing loan book fell to 84.

8 billion rupees from 107.6 billion rupees in the beginning of the year and 91.



9 billion rupees in June.

Non performing loans were 32.2 billion rupees, up from 20.0 billion at the beginning of the year and 32.

7 billion rupees in June.

The bank's non performing loan ratio climbed to 29.

39 percent at the end of the September quarter from 14.



30 percent at the beginning of the year and 27.76 percent in June.

The bank wrote back 159 million rupees of genera