Shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank rose 7% to Rs 78.4 in early trade today after the company posted solid fourth-quarter numbers.

The stock was up 5.7% at Rs 77 on Monday at 9:50 am.

According to a recent filing with the BSE, Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB) posted its highest-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 190 crore for the three months ended March 31, 2023. Q4FY23 PAT increased 59% YoY. Equitas posted a solid quarterly payout growth of 80% to Rs 5,917 crore. Net Interest Income (NII) grew a healthy 28% year-on-year to Rs 706.9 crore in the quarter.

Spending was strong across all of the bank’s product areas, with spending on the bank’s flagship product, SBL, up 56% year-over-year. In addition, new products such as housing finance and used cars continue to scale.

The lender’s advances stood at Rs 27,861 crore on March 31, 2023, up 35% compared to last year. Subsequently, the growth rate was 12%. Total deposits rose 34% year-on-year and 8% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 25,381 crore.

On an annualised basis, retail time deposits grew 25% year-on-year to Rs 8,883 crore – contributing 61% of total time deposits. While fixed deposits rose 61% year-on-year to Rs 14,649 crore. CASA deposits increased 9% YoY to Rs 10,732 crore. Net interest margin remained stable at 9.1% during the quarter.

Regarding asset quality, gross non-performing assets (GNPA) increased by 147 bps YoY to 2.6% in Q4FY23, compared to 3.46% in Q3FY23 and 4.06% in Q4FY22. 4QFY23 net NPA also increased by 123 bps YoY to 1.14%, compared to 1.73% in Q3FY23 and 2.37% in Q4FY22.

Since the start of 2023, Equitas Small Finance Bank has returned 27.61%. As such, it has significantly outperformed the benchmark Nifty Bank index. The Nifty Bank index remained flat over the same period.

However, on a five-year basis, the Nifty Bank index was again outperformed by the Equitas Small Finance banking stocks. The Nifty Bank index has returned 68.52% over the past 5 years, while Equitas small finance bank stocks have returned 133%.