RBL Bank Ltd.’s profit for the March-ended quarter met estimates due to strong growth in advances from its retail and mid-corporate segments.

Net profit rose 38.8 percent rose to Rs 247.18 crore from last year, the private lender said in an exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 246-crore consensus estimate of the analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

The lender’s bottomline was aided by 35 percent growth in advances, with the wholesale loan book growing 25 percent and non-wholesale loan portfolio expanding 49 percent on a yearly basis.

Net interest income, or the core income, grew 47.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 738.72 crore, beating the Rs 699-crore estimate.

Important Highlights:

• Net non-performing assets ratio was 0.69 percent against 0.72 percent in the previous quarter.
• Provisions for bad loans increased 24.4 percent sequentially to Rs 199.97 crore.
• Cost to income ratio at 51.22 percent versus 52.85 percent in the last quarter.

The increase in the provision coverage is in line with the bank’s strategy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Vishwavir Ahuja said in a post-earnings meeting, noting that the bank had provided for the impact of demonetisation spread over the four quarters in the reported earnings.

Shares of the private lender fell marginally in afternoon trade after the announcement of results.