RBL Bank’s net profit fell by by over 73 per cent in the second quarter of the fiscal as provisions shot up by 280 per cent and bad loans increased. For the quarter ended September 30, 2019, the private sector lender posted a net profit of ₹ 54.31 crore, against ₹ 204.54 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

RBL Bank’s net interest income rose by a robust 47 per cent to ₹868.7 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal, against ₹593 crore a year ago. Net interest margin was a tad higher at 4.35 per cent in the second quarter of the fiscal from 4.33 per cent a year ago.

The bank’s other income also grew a healthy 33 per cent in the July to September 2019 quarter to ₹441.5 crore from ₹333.11 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

However, provisions shot up sharply to ₹533.30 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal from ₹139.68 crore a year ago. The bank’s gross non-performing assets more than doubled to ₹1,539.10 crore as on September 30, 2019, or 2.6 per cent of gross advances from ₹644.97 crore, or 1.4 per cent a year ago.

Net NPAs also surged to ₹ 912.30 crore or 1.56 per cent of net advances as on Septemebr 30, 2019, from ₹338.55 crore or 0.74 per cent a year ago.

Vishwavir Ahuja, Managing Director and CEO, RBL Bank, said: “As we had highlighted a few months ago, given the difficult corporate credit environment, we have faced challenges in a few corporate accounts. As a matter of prudence, we have have taken higher-than-required provisions on these accounts, which has impacted our bottom line.”

He also expressed confidence that the bank will return to normalised earnings trajectory by the end of the fiscal year. The board of directors of the bank also appointed Veena Mankar as Non-Executive (additional) Director and Amrut Palan as Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect. RBL Bank scrip closed 2.84 per cent lower at ₹286.90 apiece on the BSE.

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