StanChart India H1 net up 45%

Standard Chartered India’s net profit before tax rose 45 per cent to $450 million in the six-month ended June 2013, driven by higher net interest margin and growth in trade and working capital loans to corporates.

The foreign bank had posted a profit before tax of $311 million in the same period in the previous fiscal year.

NIM increased to 3.7 per cent from 3.5 per cent due to lower cost of deposits, said Sunil Kaushal, Regional Chief Executive, India and South Asia, Standard Chartered.

Wholesale banking income in India grew 20 per cent to $682 million, while income from consumer banking was up 10 per cent to $245 million.

Rupee impact

“Consumer loans grew about 14 per cent, excluding the rupee depreciation. Also, the small and medium enterprise loans were driven mainly by short term trade and working capital loans,” Kaushal said adding that there was no pick up in capital expenditure loans.

There was a five per cent drag due to the currency depreciation on Indian income. It creates a lot of volatility for our clients, he added.

NPAs rise

Non-performing assets or bad loans jumped to $917 million in the January to June period. This was higher than the NPAs in full fiscal year 2012 that stood at $819 million.

Overall, the bank’s profit before tax dropped 16 per cent to $3,325 million on account of a decline of 55 per cent in profits from Korea.

Going forward, the bank said it remains “cautiously optimistic” for the second half in 2013.

beena.parmar@thehindu.co.in

Source: Financial Express