State-run Central Bank of India reported a standalone net profit of ₹155.32 crore in the third quarter of the fiscal year against a net loss of ₹718.23 crore in the same period last fiscal.
The bank’s total income grew by 15 per cent to ₹7,278.29 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2019, when compared to ₹6,329.17 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.
Its net interest income shot up to ₹2,022 crore in the third quarter of the fiscal against ₹1,816 crore a year ago. The bank’s net interest margin improved marginally to 2.92 per cent in the quarter under review from 2.74 per cent a year ago.
Asset quality
Other income amounted to ₹1,249.41 crore in the quarter under review. The bank’s asset quality also saw some improvement, with bad loans and provisions coming down marginally, though they remained at elevated levels.
For the October to December 2019 quarter, provisions and contingencies fell by 31 per cent to ₹1,249.21 crore, from ₹1,811.85 crore a year ago.
Of the total provisions, provisions for non-performing assets (NPAs) nearly halved to ₹1,088.80 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal, from ₹2,039.18 crore in the same period a year ago.
Gross NPAs also fell marginally to ₹33,258.59 crore, or 19.99 per cent of the gross advances, as on December 31, 2019, from 20.64 per cent a year ago.
Net NPAs fell to ₹13,568.05 crore at the end of the third quarter this fiscal, or 9.26 per cent, from 10.32 per cent as on December 31, 2018.