Andhra Bank Q4 net profit declines by 72% to Rs 51.60 crore

The management has provided for Rs 1,023 crore in provisions and contingencies, an increase of 37.2% over Rs 818 crore in the corresponding previous quarter

Andhra Bank reported about 72.1 per cent fall in its net profit at Rs 51.6 crore for the quarter ended March, due to higher provisioning and slippages. The net profit for the corresponding quarter last year was Rs 185.2 crore.

The bank’s total income grew 9.04 per cent at about Rs 5,124 crore, against nearly Rs 4,700 crore a year ago.

However, there was about 17 per cent increase in operating profit (before provisions and contingencies) during the quarter, as operating expenses remained flat on top of the income growth.

The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose to 8.4 per cent of the total advances, from 5.3 per cent a year ago. Similarly, net NPAs rose to 4.6 per cent, from 2.9 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year.

The management provided for Rs 1,022.6 crore in provisions and contingencies, a rise of 37.2 per cent over Rs Rs 818 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The bank's net interest margin (NIM) stood at about 3.4 per cent, against nearly 3.5 per cent a year ago. For full FY16, NIM was nearly 3.2 per cent, higher than three per cent in the previous year.

For the year ended March, the bank’s net profit fell 15.4 per cent at Rs 539.8 crore, compared with Rs 638.4 crore in the previous year. Total income, however, rose 7.4 per cent to Rs 19,199 crore from Rs 17,868 crore in the previous year.

Total advances grew 5.2 per cent, while the total deposits rose 12.4 per cent. Retail loans increased 23.1 per cent, though the large- and medium-corporate loans fell 7.7 per cent during the year.