NDB Bank group profit after tax grows 37% to Rs. 1,637 m

The NDB Bank group's profit attributable to shareholders increased by 50% to Rs. 1,521 Mn from Rs. 1,014 Mn for the last year after excluding the exceptional capital gain of Rs. 1.01 Bn generated in the first quarter of 2006 on the sale of the controlling interest in Eagle Insurance Company Ltd. The Group's profit after tax for the year also increased by 37% to Rs. 1,637 Mn from Rs. 1,191 Mn for the last year after excluding the exceptional capital gain of Rs. 1.01 Bn.

For the Bank alone operating profit before provisions for the current year was 2,411 Mn as compared with Rs. 2,090 Mn for last year, an increase of 15%.

These results were after expenditure incurred in investing in the growth of new business lines. The profit before tax increased by 12% from Rs. 2,086 Mn in 2006 to Rs. 2,342 Mn during the year while the profit after tax also increased by 10% over 2006. The profit after tax excluding equity capital gains of Rs. 249 Mn for the current period and exceptional group dividends of Rs. 308 m during the corresponding period last year was Rs. 904 Mn as compared with Rs. 760 Mn, an increase of 19%.

Overall, the core banking revenue (net interest income, forex and commissions) of NDB Bank grew at a strong pace of 25% based on a significant growth in loans of 16% and deposits of 21% over the last year. The Bank now has 40 branches, which act as distribution channels supporting the various business areas - Corporate banking, SME lending, Retail Banking, Investment Banking and Insurance.

The Net Interest Income of the Bank grew at a strong pace of 26% from Rs. 2,402 Mn in 2006, to Rs. 3,022 Mn for 2007. This was mainly due to the significant increase in the gross lending portfolio of the Bank from Rs. 44.2 Bn as at December 31, 2006 to Rs. 51.6 Bn as at December 31, 2007. The total assets of the Bank grew from Rs. 63.2 Bn as at December 31, 2006 to Rs. 73.2 Bn as at December 31, 2007, an increase of 16%.