South Indian Bank posts 40% growth in Q2 net

South Indian Bank (SIB) has posted the highest-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 72.57 crore in the second quarter of the current financial year as against Rs 51.68 crore in the second quarter of the previous year, registering a growth of 40.43 per cent. The bank’s net profit for the first half of the financial year has grown 46.93 per cent to Rs 132.68 crore.

The total business rose Rs 6,263 crore from Rs 26,836 crore on a year-to-year basis, a growth of 23.34 per cent. While the deposits rose Rs 3,973 crore from Rs 15,715 crore to Rs 19,688 crore, a gain of 25.28 per cent, advances increased Rs 2,290 crore from Rs 11,121 crore to Rs 13,411 crore, a growth of 20.59 per cent. Current and savings accounts rose Rs 791 crore from Rs 3,985 crore.

The bank earned a total income of Rs 1,055.62 crore during the first six months of the financial year as against Rs 844.99 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year, a growth of 24.93 per cent. Net interest margin stood at 3.12 per cent for the period as against 2.69 per cent for the corresponding period of the previous year. The bank’s earning per share rose from Rs 15.98 to Rs 23.48. The Bank had raised Tier II capital by way of issue of Subordinated Lower Tier II Bonds with ‘A+’ rating by CARE and Fitch rating agencies during the current quarter aggregating to Rs. 200 Crore.

The Capital adequacy ratio of the bank is as high as 16.26 per cent (under BASEL I standards) and 17.86 per cent (under BASEL II standards) against the regulatory requirement of 9 per cent. Due to extensive recovery measures bank could bring down Net NPA percentage to 0.43 per cent from 1.13 per cent as on 31st March 2009. The bank is planning to open 20 more branches during the next 2 quarters to take the total number of branches to 575. The Bank is in the process of raising resources by way of issue of Certificate of Deposits to further strengthen the interest spread, for which the highest rating of ‘PR1plus’ has been awarded by CARE Ratings.