Thrissur-based Dhanalakshmi Bank on Saturday reported 28.7 per cent fall in net profit for the quarter ended September 30 to Rs 6.26 crore, as compared with Rs 8.78 crore recorded in the same period of the previous year.
The drop is mainly due to increase in operating expenses, which went up 54 per cent to Rs 43.5 crore during the period. Employee cost increased from Rs 16.34 crore to Rs 25.99 crore. Net interest margin of the bank declined in the quarter to 2.1 per cent from 3.2 per cent in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The decline in margin was due to shift towards corporate loans, said Bipin Kabra, chief financial officer of the bank. Corporate loans now contribute 48 per cent to the bank’s total loan book. Loan outstanding of the old generation private sector banks was at Rs 4,053 crore as on September 30 — a growth of 59 per cent year-on-year. Deposits grew 43 per cent to Rs 3,936 core during the period.
Kabra said the bank might raise Rs 200 crore by issuing Tier-II bonds in December or January. The bank had raised Rs 150 crore in the second quarter. The capital adequacy ratio of the bank was at 15.9 per cent on September 30.
