Andhra Bank net up 230 per cent

Andhra Bank posted an increase of 230 per cent in net profit at Rs 256.22 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, over Rs 77.62 crore a year-ago, backed by a rise in its net interest income, fees and commissions. Net interest income rose 27.46 per cent to Rs 441.37 crore in April-June 2009 compared with Rs 346.26 crore in the previous comparable quarter. Other income comprising streams such as fees, commission and recoveries jumped 118.9 per cent to Rs 238.07 crore.

At a press conference here on Saturday, Andhra Bank chairman and managing director RS Reddy said the increase in the interest income, traction in retail sector including education, home and automobile loans, non-farm loans on gold, and the MSME sector contributed to higher profits.

The bank is extending loans of about Rs 50 crore a week in the retail segment and was expecting it to increase to Rs 100 crore a week in the months to come.

Reddy said the bank was staying away from extending big loans to public sector undertakings, which gave lower returns than corporate lending, adding that the cost of deposits too came down during the quarter.