Karnataka Bank Q2 net down 5.3% to Rs 106 cr as bad loans go up

PTI, Oct 16, 2019, 10:58 AM IST

Mangaluru/New Delhi: Karnataka Bank on October 15 reported a 5.3 per cent fall in net profit at Rs 105.91 crore for the second quarter ended September of the current fiscal as bad loans increased marginally. The private sector bank had posted a net profit of Rs 111.86 crore in the corresponding July-September quarter of the previous fiscal ended March 2019.

The bank’s total income rose to Rs 1,938.40 crore during September quarter of 2019-20 as against Rs 1,653.81 crore in the year-ago period, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

The asset quality of the bank showed a slight blip as gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose to 4.78 per cent of the gross advances as on September 30, up from 4.66 per cent a year ago.

In absolute value terms, gross NPAs stood at Rs 2,594.27 crore as against Rs 2,371.62 crore.

Similarly, net NPAs or bad loans rose to 3.48 per cent (Rs 1,863.11 crore) from 3 per cent (Rs 1,497.68 crore) a year ago.

The provisions for bad loans and contingencies too were raised to Rs 262.40 crore for July-September from Rs 193.22 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2018-19.

Provision coverage ratio as on September 30 stood at 59.19 per cent (57.49 per cent as on September 2018), the bank said.

The bank clocked a total business of Rs 1,23,658.07 crore, registering a year-on-year growth of 8.61 per cent. Deposits rose to Rs 70,189.65 crore, up 9.87 per cent, it said.

Even though the external business environment is not found very conducive for business, the bank has been able to post a satisfactory performance by focusing on operational efficiency.

As a result, during the current quarter the operating profit has grown at 16.02 per cent and the fee-based income at 38.68 per cent. The low cost current and savings account (CASA) funds constituted 27.41 per cent of the deposits, it said.

“Going forward, the bank will focus more on CASA augmentation, credit growth with special focus on retail and mid-corporates, asset quality by concentrating on timely recovery and by preventing further slippages. Thus bank is optimistic of growth prospects in the days to come with its customer-centric approach,” Karnataka Bank Managing Director & CEO Mahabaleshwara M S said.

Shares of Karnataka Bank closed 0.14 per cent lower at Rs 70.60 on the BSE on Tuesday.