Federal Bank second-quarter profit rises, beats estimates

REUTERS - Federal Bank Ltd posted a 31 percent rise in second-quarter net profit, helped by lower provisions for bad loans.

Net profit rose to 2.64 billion rupees ($40.8 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30, the mid-sized private-sector lender said on Monday. https://bsmedia.business-standard.combit.ly/2yreeCO

Analysts on average had expected a net profit of 2.54 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans stood at 2.39 percent in the September quarter, compared with 2.42 percent in the June quarter and 2.78 percent a year earlier.

Shares of the bank jumped as much as 4 percent after the results in midday trade on the National Stock Exchange.

($1 = 64.7450 Indian rupees)

(Reporting By Samantha Kareen Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)