AU Small Finance Bank Ltd witnessed a sharp decline of almost 12% in its shares on Monday following the company’s report of a 4% decline in net profit, amounting to Rs 375 crore for the third quarter ending December 2023. The significant drop was attributed to an increase in bad loans. The stock tumbled by 11.72% to Rs 625 on the BSE and 11.79% to Rs 624.35 on the NSE. The Jaipur-based bank had recorded a profit of Rs 393 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY23. Despite the dip in net profit, the bank’s total income rose to Rs 3,186 crore in the reviewed quarter, compared to Rs 2,413 crore in the same period the previous year, as disclosed in a regulatory filing on Thursday. The asset quality, however, saw a deterioration, with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) increasing to 1.98% from 1.81% year-on-year, and net NPAs rising to 0.68% from 0.51% in the third quarter of the previous fiscal.
