Private sector lender RBL Bank on Tuesday announced a 35.8 per cent increase in its net profit to ₹204.54 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal led by stable asset quality and robust net interest income. Its net profit amounted to ₹150.62 crore for the July to September quarter last fiscal.

Net interest income grew 41 per cent to ₹592.97 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2018 as against ₹420.16 crore a year ago.

Meanwhile, other income also rose by 38 per cent to ₹333.11 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal as against ₹ 241.07 crore a year ago. The net interest margin improved to 4.08 per cent by September 30, 2018 as compared to 3.74 per cent a year ago.

Vishwavir Ahuja, Managing Director and CEO, RBL Bank said, “We continue to consistently maintain our growth momentum and importantly have delivered higher margins and strong profitability with robust asset quality despite challenges in the operating environment.”

On assets quality front, RBL Bank reported a marginal decline in the gross non-performing assets (NPA) at 1.40 per cent of gross advances in the second quarter this fiscal from the 1.44 per cent in the year-ago period. The net NPA also improved to 0.74 per cent of net advances as against 0.78 per cent at the September-end 2017.

However, the lender’s provisions and liabilities amounted to ₹139.68 crore at the end of the second quarter, an over 86 per cent rise from a year ago when it stood at ₹74.89 crore. On a sequential basis, the provisions declined marginally from ₹ 140.35 crore at the end of the first quarter this fiscal.

Write-offs for the quarter under review amounted to ₹ 65 crore. The lender said its provision coverage ratio improved to 61.45 percent in the second quarter of the fiscal from 60.41 per cent in the first quarter.

On Tuesday, the Bank’s scrip fell 1 per cent and closed at ₹ 464.90 apiece on the BSE.