VTB beat analyst expectations Wednesday with a net loss of 11 billion rubles ($375 million) in the second quarter of 2009.
The bank benefited from tax recovery while the provision coverage ratio was lower in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, analysts said.
“The main surprise is that the share of nonperforming loans rose to 9.1 percent from 4.3 percent at the end of the first quarter. And the provision cover ratio declined to 76 percent, indicating the bank’s low ability to absorb possible losses,” said Leonid Slipchenko, an analyst at UralSib.
State-controlled VTB was expected to post a net loss of 17.1 billion rubles in the second quarter and 38 billion rubles for the first six months as provisions for bad loans rose. VTB said net losses for the half-year totaled 31.5 billion rubles.
“On the positive side, cost income is flat, but the margin also stays flat. And the only one other positive thing I could mention is the deposit growth,” Slipchenko said.
The clients’ accounts rose by 41.7 percent to 1.6 trillion rubles in the first six months of 2009, VTB said.
“In the second half of the year, we expect to see signs of improvement and the benefits of a reinforced capital base. … We believe we have now passed the lowest point of the economic cycle,” VTB chairman Andrei Kostin said.
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