Yes Bank net up 28 per cent; rise in provisions too

MUMBAI: Yes Bank, the country's fifth largest private lender, has reported a 28 per cent jump in net profit for the quarter to June despite a sharp rise in provisioning for bad loans.

The bank on Wednesday said net profit rose to Rs 551 crore from Rs 431 in the year-ago quarter. This was largely in line with a Bloomberg poll of 58 analysts that had forecast a 24 per cent rise in the bank's net profit. Its shares closed at 815.7, up 2.65 per cent from the previous close.

The rise in profit was mainly attributed to a sharp increase in income earned from lending business. Net interest income, or the difference between interest earned and interest paid rose 42 per cent to Rs 1,059 crore, the bank said. Net interest margin, which is a measure of profitability, was up at 3.3 per cent from 3 per cent a year ago.

The bank's provisions rose three times to Rs 98 crore. "This includes Rs 40 crore for general loan loss, Rs 45 crore for provisioning against non-performing assets (NPAs) and the rest would be for counter cyclical provisioning," said Rajat Monga, chief financial officer and senior group president at Yes Bank.