Srinagar: J&K Bank has reported 129 percent growth in net profit for the financial year 2018-19 at Rs 465 crore as compared to Rs 202 crore in the previous fiscal.
In the quarter ending March, the bank’s profit was Rs 215 crore as compared to Rs 28 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY 2018.
Buoyed by strong retail credit growth, sale of a partial stake in PNB Metlife and resolution of some large non-performing loans, the total income rose to Rs 8,487 crore in FY 2018-19 as compared to Rs 7,116 crore a year ago.
The results were announced late on Wednesday after the bank’s board of directors met at corporate headquarters in Srinagar.
The growth in J&K Bank’s state credit has been reported at 23 percent over the last year and net interest income – the difference between interest earned on loans and that paid on deposits – grew by 42 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018-19.
“I can say confidently that once our provisioning requirements due to the aging of non-performing assets are over maybe in three to four quarters, the best in terms of the bottom line is yet to come,” said Chairman and CEO Parvez Ahmed.
There is a lot of unmet demand and potential for increased lending in sectors of small and medium enterprises, tourism infrastructure, agriculture, and allied activities, infrastructure (government spending), home loan, personal finance to government employees, horticulture and gold loans, he said in a statement.
“Promoting the startups and new entrepreneurs also remains our priority area as we go deeper in the geographies in congruence with the policy support for startups at the state and central government level. We will act as an enabler for the bright youths of our state,” said Ahmed.
The bank’s total business as on March 31 touched Rs 161,864 crore, comprising of deposits at Rs 89,638 crore and gross advances of Rs 72,226 crore, as compared to Rs 142,466 crore a year ago, registering an increase of around 14 percent.
The non-performing assets coverage ratio saw a minor dip on a sequential basis to 64.3 percent mainly because of the downgrade of the IL&FS and its group companies. As a percentage of total loans, the gross and net non-performing assets ratios improved to 8.97 percent and 4.89 percent as compared to 9.96 percent and 4.9 percent a year ago.
Notably, the bank recovered non-performing assets of Rs 2,750 crore during the year besides making provisions of over Rs 1,000 crore for bad and doubtful debts.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]