IDFC Bank in red for 1st time since market debut, posts Rs 3.7-bn net loss

Private sector IDFC Bank Wednesday reported a net loss of Rs 3.69 billion for the September quarter due to higher provisioning even as the bank's bad loans came down.

The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 2.33 billion in the corresponding July-September period of 2017-18.

Total income was at Rs 24.53 billion for the quarter, up from Rs 23.65 billion in the same period of preceding fiscal, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

There was an improvement in bank's asset quality during the September quarter of 2018-19 as the gross non-performing assets (NPAs) came down to 1.63 per cent of the gross advances as against 3.92 per cent a year ago.

The net NPAs, as a percentage of net loans, also reduced to 0.59 per cent as on September 30, 2018 as against 1.61 per cent earlier.

In absolute terms, the gross NPAs (or bad loans) stood at Rs 8.94 billion as against Rs 20.01 billion. Net NPAs were Rs 3.21 billion as compared to Rs 8.04 billion

In spite of NPA ratios falling down substantially, the bank kept a higher provisioning and contingencies of Rs 6.01 billion for the July-September period of the current fiscal.

However, there was a write-back of Rs 1 billion as provisions and contingencies in the same quarter of 2017-18.

Of the total provisions of nearly Rs 6.01 billion in second quarter, provision of Rs 3.44 billion is due to reclassification as per regulatory provisioning norms, Rs 1.97 billion is provision against investments including mark to market provisions in accordance with RBI guidelines, the bank said.

IDFC Bank scrip closed 2.33 per cent up at Rs 35.20 on BSE.