Central Bank of India’s net profit surged by almost 51% year-on-year to Rs 913 crore, supported by a rise in net interest income (NII) and recoveries from written-off accounts.

The bank’s net profit sequentially rose by 3.75%. Its total income (interest income plus non-interest income) for July-September expanded by 17.08% to Rs 9,849 crore from Rs 8,412 crore a year ago.

Bank’s NII expanded 12.62% on-year to Rs 3,410 crore in the quarter ended September compared to Rs 3,028 crore in the same quarter the previous year. Consequently, net interest margin (NIM) improved to 3.44% from 3.29% on-year.

In the post-results virtual meet, the bank’s management pointed out some pressure on NIMs going forward as moderation in credit and high cost of deposits may lead to contractions in NIMs for the banks.

Total business grew by 7.07% on a yearly basis to Rs 6.44 lakh crore as on September 30. Advances grew by 9.48% on-year to Rs 2.52 lakh crore in July-September. Retail advances grew by 15.48% to Rs 76,373 crore. As of September 30, total deposits increased 5.57% to Rs 3.91 lakh crore. The share of low-cost deposits — current account and saving account (CASA) – fell to 48.93% in September from 49.40% a year ago.

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In terms of asset quality, the return on assets (RoA) improved to 0.85% for the quarter ended September, registering an improvement of 23 basis points y-o-y. Owing to this, the lender was able to improve its non-performing assets ratio considerably. Its gross NPA ratio fell to 4.59% from 4.62% a year ago. Net NPAs also declined to 0.69% from 1.64% in September 2023. The provision coverage ratio (PCR), including written-off accounts, stood at 96.31% in September compared to 92.54% a year ago.

The bank’s non-interest income, covering commissions, fees, recoveries from written-off account, rose by 55.23% to Rs 1,647 crore for the quarter ended September. The recoveries from written-off accounts grew by 40.91% to Rs 620 crore and treasury income was up 240.8% to Rs 392 crore. Total BASEL III capital adequacy ratio improved to 16.27% (with common equity tier 1 ratio of 14.01%), as in September, compared to 14.82% a year ago.