Bandhan Bank Reports 120% Increase In Q3 Profit; Asset Quality Declines

On Tuesday, Bandhan Bank reported a 120.85 percent increase in net profit for the third quarter of the financial year 2019-20 at Rs 731 crore when compared to Rs 331 crore in the same period of the previous year.

However, the numbers in the December-ended quarter cannot be rightly compared with the previous year as it includes figures of Gruh Finance, the entity that merged with the private bank with effect from 17 October 2019.

The bank's net interest income in the quarter under review rose by 37.10 percent to Rs 1,541 crore as against Rs 1,124 crore in December 2018. Non-interest income was up by 52.99 percent to Rs 358 crore from Rs 234 crore a year ago.

Gross NPAs (non-performing assets) for the merged entity was at 1.9 percent at the end of December as against 2.4 percent in the previous year, on a standalone basis. In the September-ended quarter, it stood at 1.76 percent.

Net NPAs were at 0.81 percent when compared to 0.56 percent in the previous quarter.

The lender said that it added 7.3 lakh customers during the quarter, increasing its total customer base to 1.9 crore as on 31 December 2019.

Shares of Bandhan Bank slumped to an intraday low of Rs 498.20 after the results were announced as asset quality deteriorated on a quarter-on-quarter basis.