Central Bank of India posts 13% rise in Q1 profit despite lower operating earnings

Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai Mumbai, Jul 17: State-owned Central Bank of India on Friday reported a 13.3 per cent year-on-year increase in its standalone net profit for the first quarter of FY27, supported by higher net interest income and a decline in provisioning, despite a fall in operating profit. The bank posted a net profit of Rs 1,324 crore for the April-June quarter, compared with Rs 1,169 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. Net Interest Income (NII), a key measure of a bank's core earnings, rose 16 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,914 crore, up from Rs 3,383 crore in the same quarter last year, reflecting improved lending performance. However, operating profit slipped 5.1 per cent to Rs 2,186 crore, compared with Rs 2,304 crore recorded in the year-ago period. The lender benefited from lower provisioning during the quarter, with provisions declining to Rs 401.6 crore from Rs 521.1 crore a year earlier. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, provisions also eased from Rs 504.3 crore reported in the January-March period. The bank continued to improve its asset quality, with the Gross Non-Performing Asset (GNPA) ratio declining to 2.60 per cent from 2.67 per cent in the previous quarter. The Net Non-Performing Asset (NNPA) ratio remained stable at 0.49 per cent, indicating continued control over stressed assets. Operational efficiency also showed marginal improvement. The bank said its cost-to-income ratio stood at 55.40 per cent during the quarter, reflecting a slight improvement of 10 basis points over the corresponding period last year. It also reported a reduction in the annualised cost of deposits to 4.60 per cent, compared with 4.93 per cent a year ago. The bank did not declare any dividend along with its quarterly financial results. Following the earnings announcement, shares of Central Bank of India settled at Rs 31.70 on the BSE, down 2.79 per cent, or Rs 0.91, from the previous close.