Allahabad Bank PBT up 15.7% at Rs 2108 cr in Q2, asset quality declines

Gross NPA ratio rises to 19.05% from 17.53% a year ago, net NPA falls to 5.98% from 7.96%

Allahabad Bank posted profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 2,108 crore for the second quarter of this financial year, against a PBT of Rs 1,822 crore in the same period last year.

The provisions and contingencies of Allahabad Bank rose by 16.32 per cent to Rs 2,741 crore, against Rs 2,356 crore in the same period last year. The bank's provisions stood at Rs 1,008.81 crore in the first quarter of this financial year.

During the second quarter of this fiscal, the bank's operating profit (before Provisions & Contingencies) increased to about Rs 647 crore from Rs 543 crore in the year-ago period.

The bank’s asset quality declined during September quarter, as gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio increased to 19.05 per cent, versus 17.53 per cent in the year-ago quarter. Net NPA fell to 5.98 per cent from 7.96 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year. The bank's absolute gross NPA stood at Rs 31,467.53 crore in Q2FY20 against Rs 27,236.19 crore in Q2FY19.

During the quarter, the bank has made additional provision of Rs 1,982.41 crore over and above the provisions required to be made in terms of prudential norms issued by RBI, to ensure compliance with the PCA norms of net NPA.

The Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) significantly improved to 79.30 per cent at the end of September 2019 from 67.81 per cent at the end of September 2018    

The bank sold Priority Sector Lending Certificates (PSLCs) worth Rs 4,700 crore, of which PSLC General was worth Rs 3,300 crore, while PSLC Micro was Rs 1,400 crore, for a consideration of net income Rs 24.27 crore up to September, it said.

Total business of the bank as on September 30, 2019 stood at Rs  3,81,767 crore as against Rs 3,65,577 crore the previous year