<p>Punjab National Bank, India's fourth-biggest state lender by assets, missed forecasts with an 8 percent rise in quarterly profit on Friday, but cheered investors with a quarter-on-quarter improvement in its bad loans.<br><br>Net profit rose to Rs 6.2 billion ($94.2 million) for its second quarter to 30 September, from Rs 5.75 billion a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected a net profit of Rs 8.98 billion, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.<br><br>Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans fell slightly to 6.36 per cent from 6.47 per cent in the previous three months, though higher than 5.65 per cent a year earlier.<br><br>Shares in the bank climbed on the numbers, trading up 4.2 per cent by around 0700 GMT.<br><br>(Reuters)</p>
