Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir Bank on Monday reported an over 8 percent decline in net profit to Rs 584.54 crore for the January-March quarter of 2024-25 compared to Rs 638.67 crore in the year-ago period.
On a sequential basis, net profit rose by 10 percent compared to Rs 531.51 crore in the previous December quarter of FY 2024-25, according to an exchange filing by the bank.
Total income of the bank rose by 15 per cent to Rs 3,616.16 crore in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal compared to Rs 3,134.74 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. The bank reported a total income of Rs 3,448.40 crore in the December quarter.
Total expenses rose to Rs 2,816.14 crore in the March quarter from Rs 2,470.91 crore in the year-ago period due to high employee expenses.
For the full 2024-25 fiscal, the bank reported a nearly 18 percent rise in net profit to Rs 2,082.46 crore compared to Rs 1,767.27 crore reported for FY 2023-24.
“The bank again for the third year in succession has posted very good profits. I start with the profits because that’s one thing that everyone wants to know. We have crossed the Rs 2,000 crore profit mark this fiscal. Apart from the profit, as the guidance of the bank has been, we have posted double-digit growth in both advances and deposits, and we have also posted robust other income, non-interest income,” J&K Bank MD & CEO Amitava Chatterjee told PTI.
He said overall, it has been a very good financial year for the bank.
“To top it all, the NPAs have further reduced from 4.08 percent last year to 3.37 percent this year. The net NPAs continue to be below one per cent,” he said.
On the future plans, Chatterjee said the potential of the bank gives it an advantage to grow.
“We have a very strong presence in UTs of Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh. So that gives us an advantage to grow in this geography. But we also have a very strong presence outside this area. In fact we are present in 20 other states of the country. This gives us an opportunity for diversification.
“While we are very focused and positive in our growth strategy in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, we will also try to diversify our portfolio to the other parts of the country,” he added.
Chatterjee said there has been substantial growth which has come from the rest of the country.
“I am very positive that going forward we will have a balance of growth. We also have a clear visibility of NPAs. The best part is that the NPAs within JK and Ladakh are pretty low and the creation of fresh NPAs is negligible whether it is here or outside. I believe we will be able to bring the NPAs below three per cent this year, if not more,” he said.
J&K Bank’s total deposits increased by 10.24 percent YoY to Rs 1.48 lakh crore (Rs 1,48,569.46 crore) as on March 31, 2025, compared to Rs 1,34,774.89 crore last year.
The Net Advances rose to Rs 1,04,198.72 crore, registering a growth of 11.13 percent from Rs 93,762.51 crore a year ago. The Bank’s CASA Ratio stood at 47.01 percent, maintaining a healthy share of low-cost deposits in the overall mix.
Pahalgam terror attack not to hit J&K Bank: CEO Amitava Chatterjee
The terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam that killed 26 people might affect the local economy but it will not have much impact on Jammu and Kashmir Bank as the lender’s exposure to the tourism industry is around one per cent of the total portfolio, MD & CEO of the bank Amitava Chatterjee said on Monday.
“It is a matter of prudence that we have already done this assessment. One part of it is the direct impact. The total exposure related to the tourism industry in Jammu and Kashmir is just one per cent of our total portfolio.
“The direct impact will be nominal, even if it is there,” Chatterjee told PTI.
He said it has been witnessed in the past as well that people in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh generally do not want to default on their loans.
“We have seen this happen in the past and the impact has not been much. During the days, when tourism was not that strongly influencing the economy of this geography, the highest level of stress that we had was 14 percent.
“And within a span of two to three years it came down to two to three per cent. So, the resilience of this sector is always there. I don’t think there will be any direct impact, even if it is there. It may be for the economy.
“For the indirect impact, we will have to wait and watch as to how much it is going to affect the entire economy of Jammu and Kashmir. That might affect some other sectors which might again affect the bank. As I said earlier, the overall NPA in this region is very low. So I believe the resilience shown by the citizens of this territory and the propensity to repay loans is very high. General people do not want to default,” he added.(PTI)
