TBB BUREAU
MUMBAI, APR 25, 2023
Riding on healthy growth in interest income, AU Small Finance Bank on Tuesday reported a 23 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in its March quarter (Q4FY23) net profit to Rs 424.6 crore.
Total income rose 34 per cent to Rs 9240 crore. NII for the quarter stood at Rs 4425 crore.
Net interest income (NII) which is the difference between interest earned and expended, came in at Rs 1,213.20 crore in Q4FY23, increasing by 29.54 per cent from Rs 936.56 crore in Q4 of the previous fiscal. The growth stood at 5.24 per cent from NII of Rs 1,152.73 crore in Q3FY23.
In terms of asset quality, the bank’s gross NPA declined to 1.66 per cent in Q4FY23 versus 1.98 per cent in Q4FY22 and 1.81 per cent in Q3FY23. Net NPA stood at 0.42per cent compared to 0.50 per cent in Q4FY22 and 0.51 per cent in Q3FY23.
The lender’s gross advances rose 26 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 59,158 crore with 88 per cent of its being retail in nature.
Its deposits grew 32 per cent Y-o-Y year-on-year to Rs 69,365 crore with low cost CASA (current and savings account) deposits rising 36 per cent to reach Rs 26,660 crore.
The Bank’s Board recommended a dividend of Re 1 each having a face value of Rs 10 each fully paid-up out of net profit for the financial year ended March 31, 2023. The dividend on equity shares is subject to the approval of shareholders at the ensuing Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Bank.
Commenting on the performance, AU Small Finance Bank MD & CEO Mr. Sanjay Agarwal said, “The Bank has delivered another quarter and another year of consistent performance across all parameters despite the challenges around inflation, liquidity leading to higher interest rates. Amidst a difficult market, we have managed to grow our deposit bookwhile keeping our CASA ratio stable and making our deposits more granular and retail. Our asset quality has also improved further this year with net NPA coming down to 0.4%.”
“As a Bank, we are positioning ourselves to take advantage of the India opportunity over the next decade – be it products, technology, distribution or manpower. We continue to lay foundation of building a sustainable and well governed, pan-India Bank with a generational mindset having practices and processes which are Standardised, Scalable and Sustainable,” he added.