SIB posts 56% rise in net profit

Kerala-based South Indian Bank has registered the highest ever quarterly net profit in the quarter ended June 2009.

The bank posted a 55.64 per cent growth in its bottom line at Rs 60.11 crore for the June quarter as against Rs 38.62 crore in the corresponding quarter the previous year.

The private sector bank earned a total income of Rs 521.24 crore, a growth of 28.42 per cent, compared with Rs 405.89 crore. However, the lender’s net interest income grew at a much faster pace, increasing 48 per cent to Rs 152.43 crore. Profit from treasury operations was also a strong contributor to the bottom line during the quarter, growing to Rs 33.22 crore. It had posted a loss of Rs 10.7 crore in the year-ago period.

The lender managed to reduce its gross non-performing assets (NPAs) to Rs 230 crore as on June 30, 2009, from Rs 206.95 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Bank’s net interest margin stood at 3.11 per cent for the quarter as against 2.45 per cent, while earnings per share has increased to Rs 21.28 from Rs 13.67.

Total business has increased by Rs 5,272 crore from Rs 26,020 crore to Rs 31,292 crore on year-on-year basis, registering a growth of 20.26 per cent. SIB Managing Director and CEO V A Joseph said the bank had set a total business target of Rs 36,000 crore for the current financial year.