Robust recoveries and lower tax outgo, among others, helped Central Bank of India post a 35 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 330 crore in the July-September quarter.
The public sector bank had recorded a net profit of Rs 244 crore in the year-ago period.
In the reporting quarter, the bank reported a marginal growth in net interest income (the difference between interest earned and expended) at Rs 1,415 crore (Rs 1,397 crore in the year-ago period).
Non-interest income, comprising, among others, of profit on sale of investments, commission/exchange income, and recovery in written-off accounts, edged up 9 per cent to Rs 353 crore (Rs 324 crore).
The bank recorded a 119 per cent jump in recoveries from stressed loans at Rs 329 crore (Rs 150 crore).
Even as it upgraded stressed assets aggregating Rs 158 crore (Rs 62 crore), the bank wrote-off such loans aggregating Rs 252 crore (Rs 1 crore).
The tax outgo during the quarter was at Rs 59 crore (Rs 122 crore).
According to M.V. Tanksale, Chairman and Managing Director, during the quarter, slippages, predominantly on account of textile, real estate, information technology-enabled services, edible oil refinery, and a transportation companies, rose by Rs 1,783 crore (Rs 1,244 crore).
Strategy ahead
Going forward, the strategy of the bank will be to focus on recoveries, step up loans to the retail, agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises, and shed high-cost deposits, said Tanksale. During the quarter, the bank restructured 427 loan accounts (28 accounts in the preceding quarter) aggregating Rs 1,049 crore (Rs 2,674 crore).
The bank expects loans aggregating Rs 2,500-3,000 crore to come up for restructuring in the second half of the current financial year.
Shares of Central Bank of India ended 4.06 per cent up at Rs 73.10 per share on the BSE on Tuesday.