Andhra Bank has posted a marginal 0.5 per cent rise in the net profit at Rs 121.19 crore for the year ended March 31, 2001, compared with Rs 120.59 crore in the previous fiscal. The marginal rise in the net was due to the Rs 75 crore, of Rs 185 crore spent on the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), charged to the profit and loss account.
Total interest income increased by 29.46 per cent to Rs 1,875 crore (Rs 1,448 crore), while the other income declined to Rs 205 crore (Rs 225 crore). For the fiscal ended March 31, 2001, the bank has declared 10 per cent dividend to the shareholders.
Out of 1,798 employees who have opted for the VRS, the bank has relieved 1,603. The amount spent on the scheme will be charged to the profit and loss account over a period of five years including the last fiscal.
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Announcing the audited financial results of the bank, B Vasanthan, chairman and managing director of the bank, said: "Our total business reached Rs 25,992 crore in last fiscal, and we are targeting Rs 30,000 crore business for the current fiscal."
Deposits of the bank registered a growth rate of 26.87 per cent at Rs 18,292 crore and advances grew by 31 per cent to Rs 7,700 crore. Investments have gone up by 29.62 per cent to Rs 9,913 crore.
While the gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of the bank grew to Rs 479 crore (Rs 457 crore), net NPAs rose to Rs 219 crore (Rs 193.5 crore). In percentage terms, net NPAs increased to 3.47 percent (2.95 per cent). Thanks to the Rs 150 crore proceeds from the initial public offering, the capital adequacy ratio of the bank improved marginally to 13.4 per cent (13.36 per cent). Also, the business per employee of the bank rose to Rs 1.53 crore (Rs 1.11 crore).
Vasanthan said that the bank is trying to implement the Arthur Andersen recommendations on the credit card business and is also planning to strengthen the recovery mechanism.
The bank has about 85,000 credit card customers with a total business of Rs 500 crore. With 382 computerised branches, out of the total 1020 branches, the bank has set a target to computerise 625 branches this year. It is also planning to install 200 ATMs in the next two years.