Canara Bank Q1 Results: Net profit zooms 75% YoY to Rs 3,535 crore on fall in provisions

Canara Bank on Monday reported a 75% rise in net profit at Rs 3,535 crore for the June quarter over Rs Rs 2,022 crore in the year ago period, riding on core business income growth and a fall in provisions and contingencies.

The net interest income, which is the difference between interest earned on loan advances and interest paid on public deposits, rose 28% at Rs 8,666 crore. Provisions and contingencies fell 26% at Rs 2719 crore.

Net interest margin, a key gauge for profitability, improved 27 basis points to 3.05%. Return on equity improved to 22.95% for the quarter against 16.33% in the year ago period.

Operating profit was up 15% at Rs 7,604 crore while the bank's other income fell on account of lower treasury income.

The Bengaluru-based state-owned lender witnessed a 13.27% year-on-year rise in advance to 8.88 lakh crore at the end June. The retail, agriculture and MSME book grew by nearly 13% to Rs 4.92 lakh crore, constituting 55% of total advances. Out of this, the gold loan portfolio swelled by 29.4% to Rs 1.30 lakh crore.

The gross net performing asset (NPA) ratio was seen at 5.15% at the end of the quarter, improving both sequentially and annually. The gross NPA ratio was at 5.35% three months back and 6.98% a year ago. Net NPA was also lower at 1.57%.

Its deposit kitty rose 6.7% to Rs 11.9 lakh crore.