IDFC First Bank reports Rs218-cr Q4 net loss

The bank attributed the loss to higher provisioning requirement in connection with three loan accounts, including to two financial services firms that have been downgraded by rating agencies.

The bank's gross NPAs stood at 2.43 per cent of the gross advances during the January-March quarter of 2018-19, down from 3.31 per cent in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

The bank made a provision of Rs698.2 crore in the fourth quarter of 2018-19, up from Rs242.45 crore in the corresponding year-ago period.

“The key reason for the loss is provisions of Rs419.46 crore made on three exposures of Rs2,794 crore that are performing satisfactorily on its books, however, as a prudent measure, they have been identified as watch-list accounts as two of these accounts pertain to financial services firms that have been downgraded by rating companies recently,” it said in a late night release on Friday, adding that the bank does not have any exposure to IL&FS or Jet Airways.

Its total income stood at Rs3,944.99 in the quarter ended March 2019 as against Rs2,374.34 crore in the previous year quarter.

For the full financial year 2018-19, IDFC First Bank reported a net loss of Rs1,944 crore against a net profit of Rs859.3 crore in the previous fiscal. The bank said this included accelerated goodwill amortisation on merger of Rs2,599 crore and tax credits of Rs1,351 crore. “But for these exceptional items of goodwill amortisation and one-time tax credits, the earnings before tax would have been a loss of Rs696 crore,” it said.

IDFC First Bank was set up by the merger of Capital First and IDFC Bank in December 2018.

For the January to March 2019 quarter, the bank reported a net interest income of Rs1,113 crore, against Rs453.24 crore a year-ago. Net interest margin for the quarter was 3.03 per cent compared with the NIM of 1.58 per cent for the quarter ended 31 March 2018 (pre-merger).

V Vaidyanathan, Managing Director and CEO, IDFC FIRST Bank, said, “The bank has already begun the transformation and growth journey and is focused on accelerating the build out of its retail liability franchise, growing the retail assets book, diversifying the balance sheet and improving margins.”

The bank’s gross non-performing assets was 2.43 per cent of gross advances as on March 31, 2019, as against 3.31 per cent a year-ago. The net NPA was marginally higher at 1.27 per cent as on 31 March 2019, against 1.69 per cent a year ago.

The bank made a provision of Rs698.2 crore in the fourth quarter of 2018-19, up from Rs242.45 crore in the corresponding year-ago period.