A SHARP rise in income helped Yes Bank to report an 84% rise in net profit for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009, to Rs 100 crore from Rs 54.3 crore the previous year. The interest income rose 30.8% to Rs 542 crore, while other income rose 103% to Rs 145 crore.

The bank board has also passed a resolution to raise an amount of up to $250 million through an equity issuance. This is likely to be through the QIP route. “We want to make sure that we have enough capital for future growth,” said Rana Kapoor, MD and CEO, Yes Bank.

The bank is also looking to raise Rs 500 crore through hybrid tier I and tier II issuances in the next three months. According to Mr Kapoor, “We want to raise the money in the next three months, as the interest rates would be at an attractive level. The yield curve is likely to go up towards the end of the fiscal.”

The net interest margin has improved from 2.9% last year to 3.1% in the first quarter this year. The cost of funding has dropped to 8.1% from 8.4%, while according to Mr Kapoor, the non performing assets have started showing a declining trend.

Source :The Economic Times / 22nd July 2009