Company Profile
Karnataka Bank Ltd. (KBL) is a Mangalore based, small-sized, old private sector bank which was set up in 1924. With an asset size of Rs.99,058 lakh cr as on Q4FY23. The Bank has strong presence in South India with 901 branches and 1474 ATM & Recyclers outlets as in Q4FY23 with ~76% of its total branches located in South India, indicating a geographically concentrated presence.
Investment Arguments
Long operational track record
KBL is an old generation private sector bank. Established in the year 1924, it has a proven track record of over nine decades in financial services. Over the years it has developed a strong deposit base in the state of Karnataka and in its adjoining states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Mr. Mahabaleshwara MS is the MD and CEO, who has more than three decades of industry experience in banking. KBL has a network of 901 branches, 1474 ATMs spread across 22 states and 2 Union Territories as on June 30, 2023. It is currently serving over 13 million customers.
Established regional franchise in Karnataka with granular deposit base
KBL has an established presence of over 98 years in the southern India. Its long-standing regional franchise in Karnataka provides it with access to core retail deposits. The share of retail term deposits in total term deposits remained high at 99.6% as on December 31, 2022. As a result, KBL’s dependence on bulk deposits remains limited. In terms of the granularity of deposits, the share of the top 20 deposits in the bank’s total deposits remained the lowest among peers at 3.55% as on March 30, 2023.
Adequately capitalized
Karnataka bank capitalization profile remains adequate with a CET I/Tier I capital ratio of 17.45% as on Q4FY23 compared to the regulatory requirement of 9.5%. Internal capital generation was higher on the back of strong recoveries/upgrades, resulting in lower credit costs. Moreover, the ability to sustain the improvement in the asset quality and profitability levels will be key for generating higher growth capital, although the bank may still consider raising capital in the medium to long term to sustain stronger growth while maintaining the required capital cushions over the regulatory levels.
Geographic expansion in place to transform the bank into a national player
The management is improving and centralizing processes to build capacities on the operational and technological side as well as to deploy sales teams outside the branches both on the asset and liability front. Moreover, it has set up a digital and analytical factory in Bengaluru which would aid the bank in cross-selling and upselling products among its existing 1.3 Cr customer base. Furthermore, with third-party collaboration, the bank will also offer personal loans, insurance, and broking products.
Management eyes healthy growth in Advances and deposits
The management is confident of taking advances to Rs 73,000 – 75,000 Cr by the end of FY24. Furthermore, it is eyeing to double the advances in 3 to 3.5 years to 1 Lakh Cr by growing advances at 17%-18%. Growth in advances would be assisted by healthy deposit growth of 10-12% YoY. In the retail loan book, the bank is growing strongly on gold loans and home loans. However, with enough headroom available, the management is focused on growing MSME and mid-size corporate through digital, collaboration, and direct channels.
Q1FY24 Financial Performance
Karnataka bank delivery healthy earnings for the quarter ended Q1FY24. Net Interest Income (NII) saw a growth of 18.5% to Rs.815 cr YoY as against Rs.688 cr registered in the same quarter of corresponding fiscal. The bank’s advances grew by 5.4% YoY to Rs 61,489 Cr. NIM expanded by 35bps YoY to 3.7%, aiding the bank to grow its NII by 18.5% YoY to Rs 815 Cr. Non-interest income reported robust growth of 144% YoY. With the focus on building capacity on operational as well as on the technology side, Opex inched up 32% YoY. However, it declined by 6% QoQ. The C/I ratio was reported at 47.2% (Up 180bps QoQ and down by 250bps YoY). PPOP reported healthy growth of 46% YoY. Expanding margins, strong operating performance and under-control provisions have enabled the bank to report the highest-ever quarterly profit of Rs 371 Cr (Up 225/5% YoY/QoQ).
On the asset quality front, GNPA declined to 3.68 percent as compared with 4.03 percent last year. NNPAs of the bank fell to 1.43 percent compared with 2.16 percent last year. The total deposits of the bank jumped by 8 percent to Rs 86,960 crore from Rs 80,577 crore last year. The current account and savings account (CASA) of the bank dipped from 32.8 percent to 32.2 percent.
Key Risks & Concerns
Outlook & Valuation
The bank is focused on adding 50 more branches in F24. Digital initiatives are expected to improve market share in retail portfolio. We believe KBL will maintain its ROA. With a strong track record, robust granular deposit base, healthy capitalization level, improving financial performance, stable asset quality, and reduced credit cost we believe that Karnataka bank is well positioned to deliver steady growth in the coming quarters.
At CMP of Rs.240, the stock is trading at P/BV of 0.76x FY25E (BV –Rs.315) which appears lucrative and hence, we recommend BUY on the stock.