Continuing with its profit-making momentum, J&K Bank posted a net profit of Rs 21.87 Cr for the quarter ended June (Q1) 2019.

The bank announced its reviewed financial results for the first quarter of current FY following the approval of its Board of Directors at a meeting held here at its corporate headquarters. The bank’s operating profit for Q1 increased to Rs 410.85 Cr as against Rs 349.73 Cr recorded during the corresponding period of the previous year. The Net Interest Margin (NIM) has improved to 3.90 pc as against 3.66 pc recorded for the corresponding period of the previous year.

The advances of the bank grew Year on Year (YoY) by 13.55 pcand stood at Rs 67949.45 Cr as against Rs 59841.05 Cr for Q1 of the financialyear 2018-19, while the deposits have increased by 14.91 pc to Rs 88963.39 Crfrom Rs 77419.57 Cr recorded during the corresponding period of the previousfinancial year.The total business of the bank is up by 14.31 pc to Rs 156912.84Cr when compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.

The gross NPA ratio of the bank has come down to 8.48 pc forthe quarter as against 9.83 pc, while as the net NPA ratio is 4.36 pc asagainst 4.65 pc for the corresponding period of the previous financial year.The NPA coverage ratio stood at 66.61 pc. The Capital Adequacy Ratio of thebank under BASEL III is 11.76 pc as on June 30, 2019.On the expansion front,the bank added 2 Business Units and commissioned 28 ATMs to its expandingnetwork across the state and beyond during the quarter.

Chairman and Managing Director Speaks:

Preferring provisioning over profits, we have laid a solidfoundation for a strong performance in the coming quarters of the financialyear. This has been made possible by the support of the state government-ourmajority shareholders, the counsel of the bank’s board, the loyalty of ourcustomers and the utter devotion of the human resource of this prestigiousinstitution.

The recent implementation of RTI Act in the bank besidesadoption of CVC guidelines shall further strengthen governance and complianceframework thus reinforcing the bank’s operational and administrative stabilitybesides ensuring greater transparency.Recovery of NPAs and containment offurther slippages remains our top priority as we sustain our focus on providingbest-in-class service to all stakeholders.Meanwhile, the bank shall continue tofocus on increasing low-cost deposits and scaling up the flow of credit topriority sector within the state so as to boost lending to agriculture andallied activities besides handicrafts, tourism and SME sectors.

In the rest of country, our lending focus shall remain onretail sector besides top rated corporate entities and PSUs.