Canara Bank Q2 profit rises 8% YoY to Rs 5,175 crore

The net profit stood at Rs 4,774 crore in the year-ago period.

The state-owned lender's net interest margin for the quarter improved to 2.55% from 2.52% in the preceding quarter.

Its net interest income rose 20.4% to Rs 11,005 crore, while non-interest income fell 18% to Rs 5,772 crore, capping the earnings growth.

Total income for the quarter rose 6% year-on-year to Rs 40931 crore. The bank reported Rs 499 crore of total treasury income in the second quarter, reflecting a 68.5% year-on-year fall.

The bank's operating profit stood 2% higher at Rs 8,758 crore.

Its gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio improved to 1.33% at the end of September, reduced from 1.57% three months back and 2.35% a year prior. This helped in lower provisions at Rs 1782 crore against Rs 2354 crore in the year ago period.

Canara's global deposits increased by 13.13% year-on-year to Rs 16.97 lakh crore at the end of September, buoyed by a $5.8 billion inflows in the foreign currency non-resident-bank (FCNR-B) accounts through the Reserve Bank of India's dedicated window. The overseas inflows translated into Rs 53000 crore in rupee terms.

The bank's global advance grew 19.5% to Rs 13.75 lakh crore, outpacing the deposit growth by a margin.

Managing director Brajesh Kumar Singh said that the bank is taking effforts to narrow the gap while saying that the high advance growth would sustain backed by the festive demand.