State Bank of Travancore net profit rises 34%

State Bank of Travancore has posted a net profit of Rs 163.60 crore for the quarter-ended September, as against Rs 122.49 crore during the same period previous year, an increase of 33.55 per cent.

At Rs 261.67 crore, the operating profit rose 37.7 per cent. Managing Director P Pradeep Kumar attributed the increase to a 32 per cent rise in net interest income, which touched Rs 415 crore.

For the first half of the current financial year, net profit stood at Rs 313 crore compared to Rs 302 crore in the previous financial year. Annualised earnings per share (EPS) touched Rs 125.36 (for a face value of Rs 10), with return on equity being 22.55 per cent.

The cost of deposits came down by 67 basis points (bps) year-on-year to 5.55 per cent, while yield on advances decreased by 53 bps to 9.44 per cent. At 2.86 per cent, the net interest margin improved by 13 bps.

The gross business turnover of the bank increased by Rs 14,121 crore, or 17.55 per cent, to Rs 94,580 crore. Also, the total number of accounts crossed the 10-million mark. Deposits grew Rs 8,067 crore, or 17.72 per cent, to Rs 53,602 crore.

Total advances grew Rs 6,053 crore, or 17.33 per cent, to Rs 40,978 crore. The bank continued to give special thrust to improving the quality of assets and reducing non-performing assets (NPAs). Gross NPAs stood at Rs 835 crore (2.02 per cent of gross advances) in September, down by Rs 84 crore from the previous quarter. The net NPA ratio stood at 1.17 per cent.