RBL Bank Doubles Provisioning For Bad Loans Even As Profit Beats Estimates

RBL Bank Ltd. reported a higher profit in the January-March quarter of the financial year 2016-17 even as it more than doubled its provisioning for stressed assets.

The country's most recently listed bank saw net profit grow 54.5 percent to Rs 130 crore as compared to the same quarter last year, surpassing the Bloomberg consensus estimate. Interest earned from income went up 46.6 percent from the previous year, while margins from interest expanded 140 basis points sequentially to 3.52 percent.

The lender increased its provisioning for non performing assets to Rs 82 crore, more than double of what they had provided for in the third quarter.

Gross non-performing assets grew 140 basis points to 1.2 percent of the total assets. In absolute terms, the bank had non-performing assets worth Rs 356.8 crore, a 25 percent sequential increase.

RBL Bank, which was only listed in August last year, reported a loan growth of 39 percent year-on-year. Deposits rose 42 percent.