By Dimpal Gulwani and Jaspreet Kalra
BENGALURU (Reuters) -India’s IndusInd Bank reported first-quarter profit below estimates on Friday, hurt by slower loan growth due to cautious disbursals, while lending margin shrunk slightly.
The private bank posted a net profit of 21.52 billion rupees ($257.1 million) for the quarter ended June 30, up 1.3% from last year.
Analysts were expecting a profit of 23.33 billion rupees as per LSEG data.
IndusInd’s net interest income – the difference between interest earned and paid – rose 11% to 54.08 billion rupees, missing analysts expectations of 55.54 billion rupees.
Indian banks have seen consistently strong loan demand helped by healthy economic growth and urban consumption, leaving them scrambling for funds.
They are choosing to try to attract deposits at a faster pace, or slow down loan growth to cushion their margins.
IndusInd Bank’s net loans and deposits both grew 15%. The loan growth was smaller compared to an 18% jump last quarter and a 22% growth a year earlier.
“Collections and cautious disbursals were the focus this quarter given external disturbances,” Managing Director Sumant Kathpalia said in a post-earnings call.
Disbursements in microfinance and vehicle finance, which contribute about 38% to the loan book, were lower due to the elections and impact of heatwaves in rural regions, Kathpalia added.
Net interest margin (NIM) shrunk marginally 4.25% from 4.26% in the previous quarter and 4.29% a year earlier.
NIM reflects the margin earned by a bank in its core lending business, and is a key metric of profitability.
Other private lenders – Kotak Mahindra Bank and Yes Bank – also reported contractions in NIM for the June quarter.
Provisions, or funds kept aside to cover potential bad loans, rose about 6% to 10.50 billion rupees from a year earlier.
IndusInd Bank’s asset quality deteriorated, with gross non-performing assets ratio (NPA) at 2.02% at the end of June, compared with 1.92% three months earlier.
($1 = 83.6930 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani and Varun Hebbalalu in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
