Andhra Bank Q3 profit falls 15 percent

Citing higher provisioning on bad loans, Andhra Bank, on Thursday said its net profit plunged 15.2% to Rs 257.09 crore for the quarter ended December, 2012 as against Rs 303.17 crore profit in the corresponding period a year ago.

“Although the Q-o-Q operating profit was satisfactory — at Rs 712 crore in December, 2012 up from Rs 638 crore achieved in September, 2012 — net profit took a beating on account of high provisioning and ongoing restructuring of bad loans,” said B A Prabhakar, CMD, Andhra Bank.

The bank made a provision of Rs 149 crore for NPAs in the quarter under review compared to Rs 39 crore a year ago. It restructured loans worth Rs 1,318 crore during the quarter.

Its total income rose to Rs 3,469.21 crore (Rs 3,158.26 crore) in  December, 2012. During the first nine months, its  net profit fell by 6% to Rs 944.55 crore (Rs 1,005 crore).

Net NPAs rose to 2.29% of the total advances as of December, 2012 from 1.21% a year ago. In absolute terms, net NPAs stood at Rs 2,023.32 crore (`943.27 crore).

Meanwhile, Andhra Bank will soon approach the government to raise additional capital. “We have not yet worked out our capital requirements. This will be done considering last year’s growth and other aspects. We will approach the government after that,” said Prabhakar.

The bank’s deposits grew by 14% in the quarter to Rs 1,12,448 crore, while advances increased by 14% to Rs 90,292 crore.