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Private sector lender RBL Bank’s net profit fell 69 per cent to ₹69.9 crore in the third quarter of the fiscal due to a sharp rise in provisioning.
The bank had reported a net profit of ₹225.2 crore in the same period the previous year.
Total provisions shot up to ₹638.3 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2019 as against ₹160.68 crore in the same period a year ago.
“The bank has demonstrated strong growth in operating profits amidst a challenging business environment. However, challenges in a few corporate accounts and related provisioning requirements have impacted the bottom line for the quarter,” said Vishwavir Ahuja, Managing Director and CEO, RBL Bank.
‘Other metrics on track’
Rajeev Ahuja, Executive Director, RBL, said the bank expects to return to normal profit growth from the next fiscal and expects to account for the remaining provisioning in the current (fourth) quarter. All other operating metrics remain on track, he added.
For the October to December 2019 quarter, the bank’s total income grew by 31.3 per cent to ₹2,644.30 crore compared with ₹2,012.99 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.
The net interest income rose by 41 per cent to ₹922.6 crore in the third quarter of the fiscal year as against ₹655.1 crore a year ago.
The net interest margin stood at 4.57 per cent in the quarter under review compared with 4.12 per cent a year ago.
Other income rose by 30 per cent to ₹487 crore in the quarter under review .
Asset quality remained under pressure; gross non-performing assets shot up to ₹2,010.48 crore or 3.33 per cent of the gross NPAs as on December 31, 2019 against 1.38 per cent a year ago.
Net NPAs also rose to 2.07 per cent of net advances at the end of the third quarter from 0.72 per cent as on December 31, 2018.
The bank’s stock closed at ₹339.10 on the BSE on Wednesday, down 0.67 per cent from the previous close.
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