RBL Bank posted a net profit of ₹233 crore for Q3 FY24, higher than ₹209 crore a year ago but lower than ₹294 crore in the previous quarter.

However, the bottom line was hit due to a one-time contingency provision of ₹115 crore which the bank took on its AIF investments. Barring this, profit after tax for the quarter was ₹319 crore, up 53 per cent on year and 9 per cent on quarter.

Net advances grew 20 per cent y-o-y and 5 per cent q-o-q to ₹79,949 crore, led by 33 per cent y-o-y and 5 per cent q-o-q growth in retail advances to ₹46,371 crore, comprising 58 per cent of total loans. Retail disbursements for the quarter were ₹5,958 crore, of which ₹2,631 crore were secured loans.

Housing loans were up 48 per cent on year, rural vehicle finance by 157 per cent, and commercial banking loans by 19 per cent.

In the earnings call, MD and CEO R Subramaniakumar said advances should continue to grow at around 20 per cent, wherein retail credit growth is expected to be faster at over 25 per cent.

Key focus

The focus will be on secured retail loans, which grew 50 per cent y-o-y in Q3, and should sustain this momentum.

Net Interest Income grew 21 per cent y-o-y and 5 per cent q-o-q to ₹1,546 crore. NIM for the quarter was 5.52 per cent, up from 5.27 per cent a year ago. Other income was up 26 per cent y-o-y and 10 per cent q-o-q to ₹778 crore. Core fee income was up 23 per cent y-o-y and 7 per cent q-o-q at ₹729 crore.

Deposits grew 13 per cent on year and 3 per cent on quarter to ₹92,746 crore. CASA Ratio at 33.8 per cent. Deposits below ₹2 crore accounted for 44.5 per cent of total deposits which the bank aims to grow to 50 per cent, Subramaniakumar said. He added the focus remains on retail deposits, which grew 23 per cent y-o-y, and will continue to support the lender’s retail loan growth.

Gross NPA ratio improved to 3.12 per cent from 3.61 per cent a year ago. Net NPA ratio at 0.80 per cent, too was better than 1.18 per cent in the previous year.

There were some slippages in the MFI and credit card portfolios is Q3, especially in states that were undergoing elections. Here the bank has increased recovery efforts to a collection efficiency of 99.41 per cent, which should keep overall credit cost in a range, Subramaniakumar said.

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