Public lender Canara Bank has clocked 21.8 per cent year-on-year rise in its standalone net profit at Rs 365 for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, helped by lower provisions, higher other income and improvement in asset quality.
"The Bengaluru-headquartered lender had posted a net profit of Rs 299.5 crore in September quarter of the last financial year," Canara Bank said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
Canara Bank's net interest income (NII), or the core income a bank earns by giving loans, fell by 4.6 per cent to Rs 3,130 crore in July-September quarter of FY20 as against Rs 3,281 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
The other income (non-interest income), including core fee income, increased to Rs 2,069.59 crore against Rs 1,555.31 crore in the same period last year.
During the July-September period of this fiscal, the bank's operating profit rose 9.37 per cent yoy to Rs 2,545 crore.
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The provisions and contingencies of Canara Bank declined by 28 per cent to Rs 2,038 crore as compared to Rs 2,835 crore in the year-ago quarter. The bank's provisions, however, increased 7.3 per cent sequentially from Rs 1,899 crore in June quarter.
Canara Bank's asset quality showed improvement during September quarter, as gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio reduced to 8.68 per cent, versus 10.56 per cent in the year-ago quarter. Net NPA too declined to 5.15 per cent from 6.54 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year. The bank's absolute gross NPA stood at Rs 387,11 crore in Q2FY20 against Rs 45,233 crore in Q2FY19.
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During the quarter under review, the bank sold 74,112 units under Priority Sector Lending Certificates (PSLCs) to the tune of Rs 18,528 crore under agriculture and small and marginal farmers category and earned commission income of Rs 301.66 crore, it said.
The bank has redeemed Perpetual -Tier (Series II) Bonds of Rs 600 crore by exercising call option and received Rs 6,571 crore from Government of India towards preferential allotment of equity shares.
Shares of Canara Bank closed trade at Rs 210.85 on the BSE, up 1.98 per cent as compared to the previous close.
Edited by Chitranjan Kumar