Andhra Bank back in the black, posts Q1 standalone net profit of Rs 52 cr

State-owned Andhra Bank returned to profit in the first quarter ended June 30, by recording a standalone net profit of Rs 51.56 crore as provisions for bad loans came down.

The bank had registered a net loss of Rs 539.83 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year 2018-19. Sequentially, it had posted a net loss of Rs 1,233.61 crore in the quarter ended March 2019.

The lender's total income, however, increased to Rs 5,437.03 crore in three months to June 2019 as compared with Rs 5,092.08 crore in the year-ago period, Andhra Bank said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

There was a slight improvement in bad asset ratio, as the gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at 16.44 per cent of the gross advances as on June 30, compared with 16.69 per cent a year ago and 16.21 per cent by the end of March 2019.

Net NPAs were 5.67 per cent as compared with 7.96 per cent at the end of June 2018. It was at 5.73 per cent by the end of March 2019.

The bank's provisions for bad loans reduced to Rs 922.96 crore for the quarter from Rs 1,387.87 crore a year ago. Overall provisions and contingencies were down at Rs 1,041.04 crore during the quarter, against Rs 1,707.50 crore a year ago.

Provision coverage ratio as on June 30 was 74.45 per cent, Andhra Bank said.

On a consolidated basis, the bank posted a net profit of Rs 39.49 crore, compared with a net loss of Rs 536.80 crore a year earlier. Total income for the year was up at Rs 5,723.60 crore, against Rs 5,315.56 crore a year ago.

The lender posted losses in the all the four quarters of the previous fiscal year 2018-19, registering a collective loss of Rs 2,786.13 crore during the year.

Stock of the bank closed at Rs 19.55 on the BSE, up 1.30 per cent from the previous close.