Equitas Small Finance Bank Q2 results: Net profit up 70.18% at Rs 198.13 cr

Private sector Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd has reported a 70.18 per cent jump in the net profit for the July-September quarter at Rs 198.13 crore.

The bank had registered a net profit of Rs 116.42 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year.

For the half year ending September 30, 2023 the net profit grew to Rs 389.33 crore from Rs 213.42 crore registered in the same period of last year.

Total income during the quarter under review surged to Rs 1,540.36 crore, from Rs 1,147.39 crore registered during the corresponding quarter of last year.

For the six month period ending September 30, 2023 the total income grew to Rs 2,965.69 crore, as against Rs 2,221.01 crore registered during the same period of last year.

In a statement, the bank said it sustained credit growth with advances growing at 37 per cent year-on-year and 6 per cent quarter on quarter basis. Deposits grew by 42 per cent year-on-year and 11 per cent quarter on quarter to touch Rs 30,839 crore during the quarter ending September 30, 2023.

The bank during the quarter under review registered disbursements growth of 29 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,961 crore.

Commenting on the financial performance, the bank's Managing Director and CEO P N Vasudevan said, "this financial year is witnessing and continues to witness a strong credit growth coupled with stable asset quality and a healthy growth in retail term deposits. CASA seems to be the area of concern for the banking industry".

"For Equitas, the interest cost has risen to 7.21 per cent for the quarter. With most of the old deposits at lower rates getting replaced with new deposits at higher rates, we expect further increase in the interest cost to moderate over the next two quarters," he said.