Federal Bank Q4 profit jumps to Rs 257 cr as net NPAs ease

Balance sheet is consistently growing, naturally profitability have increased, says Shyam Srinvasan

Private lender Federal Bank's net profit went up manifold to Rs 256.59 crore for the quarter to March as net bad loans shrank.

Also, there were significant gains from retail, corporate and wholesale banking verticals. Net profit stood at Rs 10.26 crore in the January-March quarter of 2015-16.

The board also approved capital-raising plan of Rs 2,500 crore through various means, including qualified institutional placement (QIP), rights issue, preferential issue or follow-on public offer.

Total income during the period rose to Rs 2,598.06 crore, from Rs 2,262.94 crore a year ago, Federal Bank said in a regulatory filing.

For the all of 2016-17, net profit spiked 75 per cent to Rs 830.79 crore, from Rs 475.65 crore a year earlier.

Likewise, total income grew to Rs 9,759.20 crore, from Rs 8,556.35 crore.

The bank improved its asset quality, with net non- performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans easing to 1.28 per cent of net loans as on March 31, 2017, from 1.64 per cent at the end of March 2016.

Gross NPAs read 2.33 per cent of gross advances by the end of 2016-17, slightly down from 2.84 per cent a year ago.

In absolute terms, net NPAs stood at Rs 941.20 crore at March-end, down from Rs 950.01 crore in the year-ago period. Gross NPAs came in at Rs 1,727.05 crore as against the earlier Rs 1,667.77 crore.

Provisions for bad loans and contingencies came down to Rs 122.70 crore for the reported quarter, from Rs 388.64 crore a year before.

Federal Bank said its board of directors has recommended a dividend of 45 per cent or Rs 0.90 per share for 2016-17.

The bank said the capital may be raised in one or more tranches. The board also cleared a hike in overall foreign holding to 74 per cent.

"The board also gave its approval to increasing the sub-limit ceiling on total holdings of foreign institutional investors or foreign portfolio investors... Up to an aggregate limit of 74 per cent of the paid-up capital of the bank," it said.

The stock ended at Rs 107.45, up 13.58 per cent, on the BSE on Friday.