Indian Bank posted a net loss of ₹190 crore for the fourth quarter of financial year 2018-19,  against a net profit of ₹132 crore in the same period last year. Operating profit of the bank improved marginally to ₹1,245 crore (₹1,164 crore).

Total income of the bank witnessed a slight increase at ₹5,537 crore (₹4,954 crore), while interest income climbed to ₹4,968 crore from ₹4,464 crore earlier.

Total provisions and contingencies for the March 2019 quarter was higher at ₹1,639 crore (₹1,546 crore). Gross non-performing assets (GNPA), a key indicator of  asset quality, deteriorated during the quarter ended March 2019 to ₹13,353 crore (₹11,990 crore), while net non-performing assets (NNPA) rose to ₹6,793 crore (₹5,960 crore) as on March 2019.

Also read:Indian Bank Q3 profit halves to Rs 152 cr

However, in percentage terms, GNPA improved to 7.37 per cent (7.11 per cent), while NNPA improved marginally to 3.81 per cent (3.75 per cent).

“Fresh slippages, on sequential basis, have come down drastically during the second half of the financial year,” said Padmaja Chunduru, Managing Director, Indian Bank. During the March 2019 quarter, fresh slippages of the bank stood at ₹505 crore,  against a slippage of ₹1,670 crore recorded during the December 2018 quarter. The bank’s fresh slippages for the September 2018 quarter was ₹2,250 crore.

“This is proof that the bank has got a handle over fresh slippages, which is the first step to improved asset quality,” Chunduru added.

On a yearly basis, the bank’s total income increased by 8 per cent to ₹21,068 crore as on March 2019 (₹19,519 crore), while interest income rose by 12 per cent to ₹19,185 crore (₹17,114 crore).

Net profit on a year-on-year basis fell to ₹322 crore in March 2019 from ₹1,259 crore in March 2018 .

The bank said that the spike in net profit last year was on account of asset-sale worth ₹500 crore and recovery from two big accounts.

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