Ujjivan Small Finance Bank posted a net profit of ₹310 crore for Q4, 2.4 times higher than ₹127 crore in the year-ago period. For FY23, the profit after tax was ₹1,100 crore.

Gross loan book of the bank was up 33 per cent y-o-y and 10 per cent q-o-q at ₹24,085 crore on March 31. The bank disbursed loans of ₹20,037 crore during the year, of which ₹6,001 crore was in Q4.

There was all-round growth, with the housing and Financial Institutions Group (FIG) crossing quarterly disbursements of ₹400 crore and ₹300 crore, respectively, the bank said in a release.

Net interest income (NII) for the quarter was up 36 per cent at ₹738 crore whereas for FY23 was 52 per cent higher at ₹2,698 crore. Net interest margin (NIM) was 9.1 per cent for the quarter, and 9.5 per cent for FY23, including IBPC and loan securitisation.

Gross NPA ratio improved to 2.6 per cent from 3.4 per cent a quarter ago, and the net NPA ratio to 0.04 per cent from 0.05 per cent. The bank wrote-off loans worth ₹67 crore during the quarter.

Deposits stood at ₹25,538 crore as of March 31, up 40 per cent y-o-y and 10 per cent q-o-q . Low cost CASA deposits comprised 26.4 per cent of total deposits, registering a y-o-y growth of 11 per cent.

Also read: South Indian Bank Q4 net profit climbs 23% to ₹334 crore

“Our deposits continued to outpace asset growth crossing ₹25,000-crore mark. We had a negligible credit cost for the year on the back of sustained collections – reduced slippages and strong recoveries. While, slippages have normalised towards the year-end, recoveries may continue for a while,” MD and CEO Ittira Davis said.

He expects credit cost for FY24 to remain below 100 bps, and contribution of secured products in growth to improve as the bank’s strategy and execution for respective verticals takes shape.

“We remain confident of the business growth (over 25 per cent gross loan book growth) and profitability (around 22 per cent RoE),” he said. Deposits are seen growing more than 30 per cent led by over 35 per cent growth in CASA deposits, and NIM staying above 9 per cent in FY24.

On the proposed merger with parent Ujjivan Financial, the bank has filed its application with the Bengaluru NCLT and is awaiting observations and communication, Davis said.

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