IPO likely before October 20
By Amit C
KOCHI/August 16-2022: ESAF Small Finance Bank, which is in its run-up to its initial public offering (IPO) expected ideally any time in the coming few months, has staged a smart performance for the first quarter of the current year (Q1, FY23) with a net profit of Rs105.97 crore compared with a net loss of Rs15.85 crore.
Interestingly, the bank had reported almost the same net profit in the immediate previous quarter – Q4, FY22, at Rs105.60 crore.
The bank that sits on a comfortable capital adequacy ratio (CAR) or CRAR of 20.3 per cent (Basel 2), though way down from that in the same period last year, at 25.02 per cent, still carries a net NPA of Rs439.42 crore or 3.78 per cent compared with 5.84 per cent a year ago.
The gross NPA is at Rs734.36 crore or 6.16 per cent, though the bank has been able to prune it from Rs842.33 crore or 10.39 per cent a year ago. And moreover, the bank enjoys a healthy net worth or capital base of Rs1512.76 crore as of June 30, 2022.
70 pc top line growth
ESAF Bank has been able to achieve a smart top line by earning an interest income of Rs690.31 crore for the first quarter of the current financial year compared with Rs406.24 crore a year ago, representing a 70 per cent growth.
More importantly, provisions for the quarter under review declined by 34.16 per cent to Rs83.62 crore compared with Rs127 crore for the same quarter a year earlier.
