South Indian Bank posts Q4 loss of Rs 190 cr, income grows to Rs 2,342 cr

Thrissur-based lender South Indian Bank on Friday posted a loss before tax of Rs 190.04 crore during the quarter ended March 31, 2020, as compared to a profit before tax of Rs 108.40 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. The bank's total income grew to Rs 2,341.88 crore during the quarter as compared to Rs 2026.59 crore during same period last year.

The bank made a one time provisioning of Rs 255 crore on some large value non performing assets (NPA) it sold to an asset reconstruction company in 2017. With this, the provisioning for the sold portfolio is around 63 per cent.

It has also made provisioning of an additional Rs 70 crore in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. In the absence of provisioning, it would have posted a net profit of around Rs 105 crore, said Thomas Joseph K, executive vice president (operations), South Indian Bank.

The gross NPA stood at Rs 3261.77 crore (4.98 per cent of gross advances) during the quarter compared to Rs 3131 (4.92 per cent) in same period last year. The net NPA was at Rs 2,150.78 crore (3.34 per cent) during the quarter, as compared to Rs 2163.62 crore (3.45 per cent) in the same quarter last year.

Instead of an annual business plan, the lender has decided to look at the first three months' performance before taking a view on the future. The bank has brought down the corporate portfolio from around 50 per cent to around 29 per cent over a period of time and may further bring down the exposure in the segment. It is focusing on retail, agriculture and MSME, Thomas added. The bank is expected to see better growth during the current financial year.

The bank's capital adequacy ratio is at 13.4 per cent now and it may decide on any fund raising in the board meeting after the one scheduled in July, this year.