Bandhan Bank Q4 profit drops 58% on higher provisions; declares ₹1.5 dividend
Private sector lender Bandhan Bank has reported a 57.51% year-on-year (YoY) decline in net profit at ₹808.29 crore for the January-March 2023 quarter compared with a profit of ₹1,902.34 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, dented by sharp rise in provisions. Sequentially, the profit grew 178% from ₹290.56 crore in the December quarter of 2022 as provisions nearly halved during the period under review.
The total income of the bank dropped 11.7% to ₹4,897.39 crore from ₹4,844.02 crore in the corresponding period last year.
The net interest income (NII), the difference between interest earned and expended, fell 2.7% to ₹2,471.8 crore from ₹2,540.2 crore in Q4FY23. The non-interest income declined 35.3% YoY to ₹629 crore during the quarter under review.
In Q4FY23, the operating profit of the bank decreased by 28.8% YoY to ₹1,796 crore.
Total advances grew by 10% to ₹1,09,122 crore as on March 31, 2023 against ₹99,338 crore as on March 31, 2022. The total deposits increased by 12% to ₹1,08,069 crore as compared to ₹96,331 crore as on March 31, 2022.
On the asset quality front, gross NPAs stood at ₹5,299 crore against ₹6,380 crore as on March 31, 2022. The net NPAs was at ₹1,228 crore as on March 31, 2023 versus ₹1,564 crore in the year ago period.
Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, MD & CEO, said, “The bank registered good growth in the fourth quarter with EEB business coming back to normalcy. We are building new capabilities to unlock greater business impact. Our new business streams such as Commercial Vehicle Lending, Loans against Property for Business, Government Business Operations, among others, will add to the top line as well as the bottom line over the next few quarters. We have been fortunate to earn the trust of more than 3 crore Indians and we will endeavor to continue to be their trusted partner in their journey to achieve their dreams.”
The board of the private lender has also recommended dividend of ₹1.50 per equity share having face value of ₹10 each (i.e. 15 %) from the profits of the bank for the financial year ended March 31, 2023, subject to approval of shareholders at the ensuing Annual General Meeting (AGM).
As of March 31, 2023, banking outlets stood at nearly 6,000, which consists of 1,411 branches and 4,588 banking units. Total number of ATMs was at 438 as against 471 as on March 31, 2022. During the year, the number of employees of the bank has gone up from 60,211 to 69,702.
Ahead of Q4 results, shares of Bandhan Bank ended at ₹237.95, down 2.48% against the previous closing price of ₹244 on the BSE.