RBL Bank's PBT dips 72.2% to Rs 93.88 cr in third-quarter ending Dec 2019

The bank said its advances rose by 20 per cent to Rs 59,635 crore. The loan mix showed a retail share of 51 per cent while that of wholesale was 49 per cent.

Private lender RBL Bank’s profit before tax (PBT) dipped by 72.2 per cent to Rs 93.88 crore in the third quarter ending December 2019 on the back of a sharp rise in provisions for stressed assets. The bank had posted a PBT of Rs 337.8 crore in the quarter ending December 2018.

RBL bank stocks closed lower by 0.67 per cent at Rs 339.1 per share on the BSE. The Bank’s net profit in Q3 FY20 was down by 68.93 per cent to Rs 69.95 crore over Rs 225.19 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2018.

Its Net interest income (NII), which is interest earned less interest expended, in the reporting quarter rose by 41 per cent to Rs 922.6 crore from Rs 655.1 crore in the same quarter last year. The net interest margin (NIM) for the quarter improved to 4.57 per cent for reporting quarter as against 4.12 per cent in Q3 FY19, the bank said in a statement.

The non-interest revenue (other income) grew by 30 per cent to Rs 487 crore for the quarter as against Rs 374.1 crore in Q3 FY19. Bank said provisions, including those for bad loans and contingencies, grew almost four times to Rs 638.29 crore in the period from Rs 160.68 crore in the same period last year. Out of this, the increase in bad loan provisions rose four-fold to Rs 637 crore from Rs 150 crore in the third quarter.

The asset quality showed pressure as Gross Non-performing assets (NPAs) rose year-on-year basis and sequentially. GNPAs moved up at 3.33 per cent in December 2019 from 1.38 per cent in December 2018. The Gross NPAs stood at 2.6 per cent in September 2019.

Managing Director and CEO Vishwavir Ahuja said the most of slippages have come from the identified stress assets in the wholesale loan book. Bank had guided for it in the second quarter and provision burden for identified stressed loans will be complete in the fourth quarter.

On business performance, bank said its advances rose by 20 per cent to Rs 59,635 crore. The loan mix showed a retail share of 51 per cent while that of wholesale was 49 per cent.

RBL Bank’s deposits grew by 21 per cent to Rs 62,907 crore at the end of December 2019. The share of low cost – current account and savings deposits (CASA) – in total deposits improved to 26.79 per cent in December 2019 from 24.57 per cent as of December 31, 2018.

The Bank’s total Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as per Basel III guidelines was at 15.66 per cent as on December 31, 2019 (12.86 per cent as on December 31, 2018).