INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
(SMEs), buttressed by a fall in provisions as additions to bad loans slowed to a three-year low.
Net profit rose to Rs 790 crore, or Rs 3.07
per share, from Rs 432 crore, or Rs 1.80 per share, beating a Bloomberg poll of 22 market participants that had predicted profit of Rs 759
reduced substantially in this quarter
and come just two quarters after the lender slumped to its first-ever loss in the fourth quarter of FY18
Lower slippages meant lower NPAs, with net NPAs falling 58 basis points on-year to 2.54%.
This helped the bank cut back on provisions to Rs
2,927 crore from Rs 3,140 crore a year ago and down from Rs 3,337 crore in the quarter ended June 2018
This has been a good quarter with improving asset quality, expanding margins and good loan growth, which will help us tap the opportunities
and lay the foundation for the future
That, in turn, was led by a 20% growth in retail loans and a 14% growth in loans to SMEs.
The bank is working toward reducing its overseas
book, which shrunk 12% and move away from long-term loans that contracted 7%
Instead, it expanded working capital loans 21%
Growth in the loan book helped the bank make Rs 5,232 crore of net interest income, up 15%.
Net interest margin (NIM reduced to 3.36% from
3.45% last year, but higher than the 3.29% in the first quarter of the fiscal
Sridharan said the bank expects NIM to inch up to the 3.60% range
Its private-sector peers typically operate with an NIM range of 3-4%.
Analysts said the results indicate a recovery but the bank needs to
still keep an eye out for slippages
Shikha Sharma announced that her successor Amitabh Chaudhry will join the bank on November 19, about six weeks before formally taking over
