Bank of Baroda Q1 net up 2.5% at Rs 1167cr on other income

Moneycontrol Bureau

India's second largest public sector lender, Bank of Baroda, reported a muted growth of just 2.5 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) in its first quarter (April-June, FY14) net profit at around Rs 1,170 crore; dented by a 14 percent y-o-y increase in provisions and contingencies to Rs 1,020 crore. Must read: Here's why Bank of Baroda shares hit 52-week low post Q1 Net interest income (NII) or the difference between interest earned and interest paid out, rose at a lower pace by three percent to nearly Rs 2,900 crore. However, a 60 percent spike (at Rs 1,230 crore) in the other income may have saved the bank from posting a fall in the net profit. Also read: Here's how ICICI Bank will expand its loans & deposits Analysts, on an average, had expected it to report profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 1,038 crore and NII of Rs 2,893 crore for the quarter. The bank expanded its total loans by more than 12 percent YoY to about Rs 3.21 lakh crore. Retail loans grew by 16 percent to Rs 38,200 crore during the quarter. The bank plans to focus more on retail loans for further credit growth. Meanwhile, the credit expansion came at the cost of asset quality. In absolute terms, gross non performing assets (NPAs) surged 83 percent y-o-y to Rs 9,763 crore, while net NPAs ballooned nearly 200 percent to Rs 5,441 crore. The asset quality deterioration was in line with some of the large state owned banks. Gross NPA ratio increased to 2.99 percent from 1.84 percent a year back. Net NPA ratio stood at 1.69 percent compared to 0.65 percent during the same period last year. The bank’s total deposits increased by 22 percent to Rs 4.67 lakh crore. saikat.das@network18online.com