Citi India FY13 net up 41% YoY on lower operating expenses

Moneycontrol Bureau

Aided by lower operating expenses and higher other income, Citi India – the domestic arm of global giant - Citi Bank, reported more than 41 percent year-on-year spike in its net profit to around Rs 2,720 crore for year ended March 31, 2013.

"Profits have been driven by the dual combination of steady growth and improving operating efficiency," Abhijit Sen, chief financial officer, Citi India told moneycontrol.com in an email reply.

"Increase in profits has been contributed by higher income from both net interest and other income streams which will include income from the foreign exchange and derivatives business. Operating expense to income ratio stood at 40% as at March 31, 2013, down from 44.5% in FY12," he said.

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The net interest income (NII) rose more than 6 percent to about Rs 5,200 crore during the year. The other income increased by Rs 604 crore, which also included income on investments.

However, the bank's net non-performing asset (NPA) ratio rose to1.47 percent as against 0.90 percent a year ago. Similarly, gross NPA ratio stood at 2.58 percent in FY13 compared with 1.78 percent in FY12. 

"NPAs for FY13 included a significant exposure to a single corporate entity which while being fully secured, has been reported as an NPA for technical reasons. Provisions for NPAs have reduced by Rs 200 crore," the CFO said.

Citi India expanded its loan book at a slower pace by 10 percent y-o-y to around Rs 52,000 crore while deposit growth was muted at just 3 percent y-o-y to around Rs 66,600 crore.

The relative growth of deposits/loans, according to Sen, reflected the results of a balance sheet optimization exercise.

"We witnessed steady growth across all our businesses, driven by commercial, retail and treasury in particular. Provisioning for NPAs have also reduced on a year on year basis," he said.

During the financial year, Citi India added more than half of its outstanding restructured loan book. As on March, 31, 2013, the total outstanding restructured loans were at Rs 76 crore. During the year, there was fresh restructuring of Rs 46 crore.

saikat.das@network18online.com