Higher interest income boosts Yes Bank profit

Private sector lender Yes Bank on Thursday reported a rise of 29 per cent in standalone net profit at Rs 1,179.44 crore in the March quarter on the back of higher interest income.

The bank had logged a net profit of Rs 914.12 crore in January-March of 2016-17.

Total income grew 27.8 per cent to Rs 7,163.95 crore as against Rs 5,606.38 crore in the same quarter of 2016-17, the bank said. The net interest income was up 31.4 per cent at Rs 2,154.20 crore and non-interest income increased 13 per cent to Rs 1,421 crore in the quarter.

The net interest margin — a gauge of profitability — stood at 3.4 per cent in March quarter, down from 3.6 per cent in the year-ago period.

On yearly basis, the net profit (consolidated) of the bank was up 26.7 per cent to Rs 4,233.22 crore in 2017-18 as against Rs 3,339.89 crore in 2016-17. Total consolidated income during the year grew to Rs 25,561.75 crore from Rs 20,642.80 crore in 2016-17.

The bank's board recommended a dividend of Rs 2.70 per share or 135 per cent per share for the year ended March 31, 2018, subject to approval of shareholders.

The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of the bank were lowered to 1.28 per cent of the gross advances as on March 31, 2018 from 1.52 per cent at the end of 2016-17.

Net NPAs were 0.64 per cent of the net advances (Rs 1,312.75 crore), down from 0.81 per cent (Rs 1,072.27 crore) at the end of March 2017. The board approved raising funds up to Rs 30,000 crore in rupee or foreign currency in one or more tranches by issuing bonds both in domestic or overseas markets. It approved a proposal to raise up to $1 billion.