Bank of Baroda Q2 profit climbs 24% but shares slip from one-year high

Public-sector lender Bank of Baroda on Wednesday reported a 24% year-on-year increase in its standalone net profit for the second quarter, helped by lower provisions for bad loans and higher non-interest income.

Net profit for July-September rose to Rs 2,087.85 crore from Rs 1,678.6 crore in the same quarter last year. 

The bank said that its bottom line for the quarter ended September 30 was healthier because of a 23% increase in non-interest income to Rs 3,579 crore. 

The lender reported a marginal 2.11% increase in its net interest income for the second quarter to Rs 7,566 crore from Rs 7,410 crore a year earlier. 

Bank of Baroda Q2: Other highlights

1) Operating profit came in at Rs 5,670 crore, against Rs 5,361 crore a year earlier.

2) Gross non-performing assets fell to Rs 59,504 crore from Rs 65,698 crore in the same quarter last year.

3) Gross NPA ratio improved to 8.11 % in the reporting quarter from 9.14% in the year-ago period.

4) The net NPA ratio stood at 2.83%, higher than 2.51% a year earlier but lower than 3.03% at the end of June.

5) Total provisioning for the quarter, apart from tax, was at Rs 2,754 crore, down 2% from a year earlier.

6) The Provision Coverage Ratio of the Bank came in at 83.42%, down a tad from 85.35% a year earlier.

Shares fall

Bank of Baroda also said that global deposits during the second quarter were up 0.54% to Rs 9.59 lakh crore on a year-on-year basis. Domestic deposits rose 3.43% to Rs 8.64 lakh crore as of September 30. The bank’s domestic CASA (current and savings account) marked a growth of 13.01%, while its operating profit grew by 5.76%.

However, the bank’s ended lower on Wednesday despite the profit growth. The shares touched a one-year high of Rs 108 in intra-day trade, but lost all gains to close 5.36% lower at Rs 100.65 apiece on the BSE.

Still, the shares have doubled from a one-year low of Rs 44.45 apiece in November 2020.