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India's Yes Bank on Saturday reported a near 45% drop in net profit year-on-year for the January-March quarter as provisions for bad loans increased. Net profit fell to 2.02 billion Indian rupees ($24.63 million) for the reporting quarter from 3.67 billion rupees in the same period a year earlier. Compared with the previous quarter, net profit was three times higher, owing to a low base in the prior period.

Profit was well below the 2.88 billion rupees forecast by analysts, according to Refinitiv data.

Yes Bank’s provisions and contingencies increased to 6.18 billion rupees from 2.71 billion rupees a year earlier.

The lender's asset quality was mixed. The gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio rose to 2.17% from 2.02% in the December quarter.

The gross NPA ratio was down from 13.93% a year earlier. In December Yes Bank completed the transfer of bad loans worth 480 billion rupees ($5.9 billion) to private equity firm J.C. Flowers in a deal aimed at cleaning up its balance sheet.

The net NPA ratio was 0.83%, down from 1.03% in the prior three months.

Yes Bank's net interest income, the difference between the interest income from lending and that paid to depositors, rose 15.7% to 21.05 billion rupees. The net interest margin, a key indicator of a bank's profitability, rose to 2.80% from 2.50% a year earlier.

The private lender's net advances grew by 12.3% on year, led by retail loans, while deposits rose 10.3%.

($1 = 82.0300 Indian rupees)