Mumbai: Private sector lender Yes Bank on Wednesday reported 28.1 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 551 crore for the March quarter on higher interest income and a healthy growth in retail and SME advances.
Overall advances grew 35 per cent driven by retail and SME, which grew 50 per cent in the reporting quarter, taking the overall share of retail and SME in advances to 34 per cent from 31 per cent in the year ago period.
Deposits grew 23 per cent overall, while Casa deposits rose to 23.1 per cent from 22 per cent in the previous fiscal.
"Total income has increased from Rs 3,013.57 crore for the quarter to Rs 3,678.83 crore," Yes Bank's Chief Financial Officer Rajat Monga said.
The net interest income rose 35.8 per cent to Rs 977.1 crore despite a flat NIM sequentially at 3.2 per cent, marginally up from 3 per cent from the year ago period and the non-interest income grew 32.5 per cent to Rs 590.4 crore.
Net non-performing assets increased to 0.41 per cent of its total advances from 0.05 per cent a year ago, while gross NPAs grew to 0.41 per cent from 0.31 per cent.
On restructured accounts, Monga said the bank rescheduled three accounts in the quarter, including a Rs 160 crore road project which constituted 90 per cent of the restructured book in the quarter, he said and expressed hope the said project returns to productivity soon.
He also said the board has approved a fund raising plan of up to USD 1 billion through a QIP/ADR/GDR issue. But he was quick to add that this will not happen in the first half.
On growth prospects, he said the environment of growth is coming back.
He also the bank will start an international banking unit at the International Financial Services Centre in the GIFT City in Ahmedabad. "It will be a matter of weeks to get the regulatory permissions to set it up the unit."
Monga further said the bank will announce a bond issuance plan, which will be a combination of infra and green bonds in the next two to three weeks. "We plan to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore per quarter this year as part of the Rs 10,000-crore bond raising programme," he said.
On lending rate cut, which its larger peers have already done, he said there will be a base rate cut, but can't say how much.
He hinted at re-calibrating the rate structure on saving bank deposits which it offers between 6 and 7 per cent, the highest in the industry. But, he was quick to add that 7 per cent pricing on savings deposits will stay.
Yes Bank script closed 1.4 per cent up at Rs 795.95 on the BSE, whose main gauge Sensex closed 0.8 per cent up in last hour rally.
