Hsbc Net Up 65% At Rs 201 Crore

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC) has posted a 65 per cent increase in net profit for 2000-01 in its Indian operations. The net profit after tax is Rs 201 crore, up from the previous year's Rs 121.5 crore.

The pre-tax profit was pegged at Rs 431 crore against Rs 269 crore. The operating income has gone up by 37.5 per cent to Rs 1,716 crore against Rs 1.248 crore, while operating expenses have gone up by 39 per cent from Rs 269 crore to Rs 415 crore.

HSBC chief executive officer Zarir Cama said: "We are introducing a debit card in July. Our asset management company will be operational by the end of this year."

The bank is retaining its profit for this year as well as its previous year for its India operations. "The bank is retaining its profit in order to support the growth plans that we are putting in place," added Cama.

During the year, the bank's deposits have jumped by 14 per cent from Rs 8,755 crore to Rs 9,951 crore, while advances have rose to Rs 6,246 crore from Rs 4,435 crore, a 41 per cent hike.

The capital adequacy ratio of the bank has gone up from 10.3 per cent to 12.3 per cent. The tier-I capital adequacy ratio is at 8.63 per cent, while the tier-II ratio is 3.74 per cent.

The net profit per employee has also risen 65 per cent from Rs 4.4 lakh to Rs 6.6 lakh. The return of total assets stands at 1.3 per cent, while the bank's non-performing assets have come down to 0.99 per cent (1.04 per cent).

The bank's balance sheet size as of March 31, 2001, was Rs 16,000 crore which has subsequently gone up to Rs 17,500 crore by May. It has a network of 29 branches and 112 automated teller machines.