Andhra Bank net dips 8%

Public sector lender, Andhra Bank, witnessed a decline of 8.45 per cent in its net profit at Rs 303 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2011, as compared to Rs 331 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. This is due to the high level of provisions made towards restructuring accounts, primarily from the telecom sector.

Total income stood at Rs 3,158.26 crore, as against Rs 2320.2 crore during the same period a year ago, reflecting a growth of 36.12 per cent.

"The decline is mainly due to the provisions and contingencies made towards restructuring of accounts and non-performing assets (NPAs). The third quarter was a challenging one for the entire banking industry, and even other banks have made substantial provisioning for telecom tower accounts," chairman B A Prabhakar said on Thursday.

The bank has shown Rs 309.43 crore towards total provision and contingencies, of which the provision for NPAs was Rs 39.47 crore, as against Rs 172 crore in the December 2010 quarter. The bank's net NPAs for the quarter stood at 1.21 per cent, as against 0.47 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year.

Prabhakar said the bank's net interest margin would be under pressure, which it by and large would be able to manage. For the third quarter, the bank's NIM stood at 3.81 per cent, while it was 3.80 per cent for the nine-month period. "There could be a decline of 15 to 20 basis points by March this year. Our efforts are to maintain the NIM," he added.

Andhra Bank's deposits at the end of December 2011 stood at Rs 98,680 crore, as compared to Rs 82,095 crore in December 2010, registering a growth of 20.2 per cent.

The bank has plans to recruit 2,270 employees, including 820 officers, to address its requirements and expansion plans for the next financial year, Prabhakar said.