Karnataka Bank rallies 19% to hit new 52-wk high after a strong Q2 show

Shares of Karnataka Bank rallied more than 19% on Wednesday to hit a new 52-week high after the private lender reported a strong performance in the September 2022 quarter.

The Mangaluru-headquartered lender posted an all-time quarterly high net profit of Rs 411.5 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, recording a growth of 228% compared to the profit during the same period last year.

Following the announcement of earnings in Q2FY23, shares of Karnataka Bank surged over 19% to Rs 112, before trading at Rs110 at 9.30 am. The scrip had settled at Rs 94 on Tuesday.

The net interest income increased for the quarter by 26% to Rs 802.73 crore from Rs 637.10 crore reported during the same period last year.

For the September quarter, the NPAs also moderated as the gross NPAs reduced to 3.3% against 4.03% as of the previous quarter, while net NPAs also reduced to 1.7% against 2.16% as of the previous quarter.

Shares of Karnataka Bank have zoomed about 45% in the last one month, whereas the counter is up by 75% in 2022 so far, outperforming the benchmark indices.

For the half year ended September, the net profit stood at Rs 525.5 crore, which is also an all-time high, the bank said in a press release. The business turnover of the Bank has touched a new high of Rs 1,41,505.87 crore as of September 30.