South Indian Bank posts record ₹426 crore quarterly profit as lending margins widen
South Indian Bank Ltd has reported its highest-ever quarterly net profit of ₹426.13 crore for the July-September quarter, a rise of 21.28 per cent from the ₹351.37 crore it earned in the corresponding quarter a year earlier. The Thrissur-headquartered private sector lender disclosed the figures in its quarterly results announcement.
The bank's net interest income — the difference between what it earns on loans and what it pays depositors — touched a record ₹1,116 crore, growing 37.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Operating profit rose 37 per cent year-on-year to ₹732 crore. Net interest margin, a key gauge of how profitably a bank lends, improved to 3.33 per cent from 2.80 per cent a year earlier.
On the deposit side, retail deposits grew by ₹16,728 crore, from ₹1,12,625 crore to ₹1,29,353 crore, an increase of 14.85 per cent year-on-year. Deposits from non-resident Indians (NRIs) rose by ₹5,008 crore, from ₹33,195 crore to ₹38,203 crore, a growth of 15.09 per cent.
Deposits are the money a bank borrows from customers and lends onward; a steady rise in retail and NRI deposits gives a lender a more stable and typically lower-cost base of funds. Along with a wider interest margin, this helps explain the improvement in the bank's core earnings for the quarter.
Mahesh Muralidhar Pai, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, said the lender's strategy remains centred on sustained profitability, asset quality, a resilient loan book and a strong retail liability portfolio.
"We are sharpening our organisational structure and leveraging digital technology to effectively achieve our business objectives. During the reporting period, the bank witnessed consistent growth across all targeted segments, with a sharp focus on acquiring quality assets in verticals such as corporate lending, MSME loans, housing loans, auto loans and gold loans," he said.
Pai added that the bank is continuing to focus on liabilities through active customer engagement and quality acquisition. "Aligned with our strategic intent of 'Profitability through Quality Credit Growth', we have successfully onboarded new advances with low-risk profiles, ensuring a well-balanced and healthy credit portfolio," he said.
South Indian Bank is a private sector lender based in Kerala with a network spread across the country. Its shares are listed on Indian stock exchanges, and its quarterly results are tracked closely by investors for signals on credit growth, margins and asset quality in the mid-sized private banking segment.
The details shared in the results announcement covered profit, income, margins and deposits. Figures on the bank's asset quality, such as gross and net non-performing assets, and its capital adequacy were not part of the information provided in this statement.
The July-September quarter is the second quarter of the financial year. Comparisons in this report, as in the bank's statement, are year-on-year, meaning the current quarter is measured against the same three-month period a year earlier rather than against the immediately preceding quarter.
