DCB Bank net up 33.3%

Higher interest income, better net interest margins boost numbers

DCB Bank today said its net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 increased by 33.3 per cent from a year earlier to Rs 36 crore aided by higher interest income and improvement in net interest margin.

Net interest income, or the difference between interest income and interest expense, grew by 30.6 per cent from a year ago to Rs 94 crore. Net interest margin expanded 17 basis points year-on-year to 3.55 per cent during the three-month period.

"In a difficult market, so far, we have been able to contain NPAs (non-performing assets). However, we need to continue to be watchful. We are expanding our branch network in a calibrated manner and we hope that the new branches will help us achieve a diversified portfolio and deposit growth," Murali M Natrajan, managing director and chief executive of DCB Bank, said in his post-earnings comments.

Gross non-performing asset ratio of the bank improved by 103 basis points from a year earlier to 2.77 per cent, while net bad loan ratio increased by 4 basis points to 0.77 per cent at the end of December, 2013. The bank made provisions of Rs 10 crore during the quarter compared to Rs 5 crore in the corresponding period of last year.

Net advances increased by 23 per cent to Rs 7,361 crore while deposits were up 27 per cent at Rs 9,592 crore. The share of current account savings account (CASA) ratio declined to 24.8 per cent at the end of December, 2013 from 28.9 per cent a year earlier.

The bank closed the quarter with a capital adequacy ratio of 12.86 per cent as per Basel III norms.