South Indian Bank net dips 96%

South Indian Bank Ltd on Tuesday reported 96% decline in its September quarter net profit due to higher provisions. Net profit for the quarter stood at ₹4.32 crore against ₹110.52 crore a year ago. Provisions and contingencies surged over 253% to ₹453.68 crore from ₹128.33 crore a year ago. On quarter-on-quarter basis, it jumped over 102% from ₹2,898.22 crore.

“Provisions in the quarter included depreciation of ₹252.39 crore on account of diminution in net asset value of investments in security receipts on the basis of NAV declared by asset reconstruction company,” the bank said in a notice to BSE.

Net interest income (NII) or the core income a bank earns by giving loans increased 13% to ₹503.22 crore versus ₹445.18 crore last year. Other income rose 92.23% to ₹280.47 crore from ₹145.90 crore in the same period last year. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose marginally 1.21% to ₹1,766.32 crore at the end of the September quarter from ₹1,745.28 crore in the same quarter last year.

As a percentage of total loans, gross NPAs stood at 3.57% as compared to 3.61% in the previous quarter and 3.96% in the year-ago quarter. Net NPAs were at 2.57% in the June quarter compared to 2.54% in the previous quarter and 2.77% in the same quarter last year. Advances for the quarter rose 12.42% to ₹48,954.26 crore from a year ago. Deposits rose 11.55% to ₹67,142.10 crore.

During the quarter, the bank identified ₹28.50 crore fraud at one of its branch and it has filed a first investigation report and initiated suitable recovery proceedings.

On Tuesday, South Indian Bank shares closed 6.24% up at ₹30.05 per share, while the benchmark Sensex index gained 0.24% to close at 31924.41 points.

MUMBAI: