Comments
Our Bureau
Kerala-based ESAF Small Finance Bank has registered ₹24 crore profit after tax (PAT) for the six months ending September 30 against a loss of ₹48.99 crore during the H1 of FY18.
The net profit achieved by the Thrissur-based bank was driven by a 70 per cent growth in gross advances at ₹3,993.45 crore, mostly riding on its retail portfolio which now remains its mainstay.
K Paul Thomas, MD and CEO of ESAF Small Finance Bank, said the results reflected the improving macro economic conditions, especially in the under-served sections of society. The increase in profit was because of the significant improvement in asset quality. While the net NPA came down to 0.49 per cent from 4.99 per cent, the gross NPA came down to 3.37 per cent from 6.85 per cent on y-o-y basis. This is commendable as Kerala, where the bank has a significant exposure, faced the worst floods during the period.
“We have been on an expansion mode to increase the number of branches by 200 this fiscal year and tap the untapped market for which plans are well on track,” he said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.