City Union Bank shares tank nearly 10% post-Q4 results; should you buy?

City Union Bank share price: Shares of City Union Bank slipped over 9 per cent on NSE after the private sector lender reported a weak set of numbers for the March 2023 (Q4FY23) quarter. At closing, City Union Bank stock declined 9.9 per cent on NSE to Rs 125.6 apiece. The stock's 52-week low level stands at Rs 120.35 apiece.

City Union Bank Q4 results

The private sector bank logged a standalone profit of Rs 218 crore for the quarter ended March 2023, which was estimated at Rs 250 crore. The bank’s Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) dipped to 4.37 per cent against 4.62 per cent in the previous quarter. Net Interest Income (NII) of the lender also increased by 2.7 per cent to Rs 514.2 crore year-on-year (YoY) but was below estimates at Rs 570 crore.

Bank’s provisions – the amount that is generally put aside from the profit in order to meet a probable future expense or a reduction in the asset– were down 7 per cent to Rs 159 crore against Rs 170.9 crore YoY. Likewise, on a QoQ basis, provisions were down 29.2 per cent to Rs 224.5 crore. On the other hand, deposits were up 10 per cent YoY to Rs 5.23 lakh crore against Rs 4.77 lakh crore a year ago. Bank’s advances were also up 7 per cent to Rs 4.4 lakh crore against Rs 4.1 lakh crore recorded in the year-ago period. The current and savings account  (CASA) ratio– indicates how much of a bank's total deposits are in both current and savings accounts– stood at 29.88 per cent as compared to 29.21 per cent in the December quarter.

Brokerages' view

Prabhudas Lilladher has maintained a ‘buy’ call on City Union Bank for a target price of Rs 190 apiece. The brokerage has cut the target price from Rs 220 apiece to Rs 190 apiece as it believes that the core performance of peers is better than City Union Bank.

“With operating profitability falling by around 5 per cent, the bank has recorded a poor set of quarters. Additionally, the bank's loan growth stayed modest at 7 per cent. It's interesting to note that City Union was one of the few banks to report a decline in net interest margins in FY23 and there isn't going to be any sharp improvement in the coming FY24 as well,” said Aman Soni, Head of Operations, Prudent Equity.

City Union Bank shares: Past performance

City Union Bank shares have lost over 28 per cent of their value in 2023 so far, a period in which the Nifty headline index has risen over 2 per cent.

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