IDFC First Bank Q4 results: Posts net profit of Rs 72 crore

IDFC First Bank swing into the black and reported a net profit for the quarter ended March, on the back of strong rise in interest income.

The private sector lender reported a net profit of Rs 71.54 crore in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, compared with a net loss of Rs Rs 218.03 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Its net interest income (NII) in the quarter rose by around 40 per cent on year-on-year (YoY) basis to Rs 1,563 crore. Its net interest margin rose to 4.24 per cent in the quarter from 3.03 per cent a year ago.

Provision for the quarter were at Rs 679 crore which included Rs 225 crore of Covid-19 related provision. Retail provision for the quarter was Rs 349 crore.

Gross non-performing assets (NPA) of the bank reduced to 2.60 per cent as of March 31, as compared to 2.83 per cent as of December 31, while net NPA was 0.94 per cent as of March 31, as compared to 1.23 per cent as of December 31, 2019.

IDFC First Bank said it has provided moratorium to its eligible customers, and it has been provided to 35 per cent of the outstanding book based on the customer requests as received and granted following the notifications by the RBI. Additionally, it has provided a 100 per cent moratorium on suo-moto basis to select segments like rural financing.

“We are happy to inform that deposits for our bank are coming thick and strong. In Q4 FY20, we saw strong inflows into our Bank as retail deposits increased by Rs 4,658 crore, despite the turmoil in the markets,” said V Vaidyanathan, managing director and CEO, IDFC FIRST Bank.

“Once the lockdown lifts, things will only get better for both lending as well as deposits as the economic activity will pick up. We are already seeing this that where locations are opening up from lockdown, demand is strong,” he added.

Although the incremental disbursals on the retail loan book have been sluggish during the lockdown period, the bank said it continues to grow its retail deposits. “We expect the retail loan book growth will gradually resume post the lock-down restriction are likely to be lifted in a phased manner,” it said in a release.