The bank had earned a profit of Rs 92 crore in the same period a year ago.

During the period, the bank earned a net interest income of Rs 486 crore as compared to Rs 366 crore in April-September last year, ESAF Small Finance Bank said in a statement.

The asset quality of the bank improved with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) declining to 1.32 per cent of gross advances as on September 30, 2020, from 1.79 per cent a year ago.

Net NPAs or bad loans too declined to 0.19 per cent of the advances from 0.62 per cent in the year-ago period.

The provision coverage ratio improved to 93.45 per cent as on September 30, 2020 from 81.53 per cent by the same period a year ago, it said.

The capital adequacy ratio (CRAR) was 24.29 per cent with Tier I CRAR of 21.10 per cent at the end of September as against a regulatory requirement of 15 per cent and 7.50 per cent, respectively.

“The results show that the micro-entrepreneurs are in a recovery mode after the COVID-19 pandemic induced slowdown, indicating a positive sign for the economy altogether,” Managing Director K Paul Thomas said.

The bank opened 29 branches during the half-year ended September 30, giving it a total of 483 branches across 19 states and two Union Territories.