Andhra Bank net up 69 per cent

Driven by robust growth in credit to small and medium enterprise (SME) and retail sectors and a decline in cost of deposits, Andhra Bank reported a 69 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 274 crore for the quarter ended September 30.

The bank’s net profit in the same period last year was Rs 162 crore.

The state-owned lender earned Rs 1,791 crore, 23 per cent more than the Rs 1,455-crore income it had posted in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Chairman and Managing Director RS Reddy said the bank had seen a 52 per cent growth in credit to the SME sector and a 34.7 per cent growth in credit to the retail sector, leading to better yields on advances. SME and retail segments accounted for 14 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, of the bank's total income.

With the cost of deposits falling to 6.35 per cent from around 10.5 per cent last year, he said the bank had been able to achieve a healthy net interest margin of 3.14 per cent.

This was also faciltated by rolling over of high-cost deposits. Fee-based income rose to Rs 15.55 crore from Rs 9.55 crore in the same period last year.