State-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) reported a 5.6% increase in its net profit, reaching ₹4,837 crore for the December quarter, driven by lower interest income. In comparison, the bank had posted a net profit of ₹4,579 crore during the same period last year.
Total income for the quarter rose to ₹34,676 crore, up from ₹31,416 crore a year ago, as per the regulatory filing. Interest income also saw a slight increase, reaching ₹30,908 crore compared to ₹28,605 crore in the corresponding period last year.
The moderate profit growth was attributed to a nearly 3% rise in Net Interest Income (NII), which stood at ₹11,417 crore for Q3FY25, up from ₹11,101 crore a year ago, said BoB MD and CEO Debadatta Chand in a media briefing. Operating profit grew to ₹7,664 crore from ₹7,015 crore in the previous fiscal’s third quarter.
On the asset quality front, the bank improved its gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio to 2.43%, down from 3.08% last year. Net NPAs also decreased to 0.59% from 0.7% a year ago. However, provisions (excluding tax) rose to ₹1,082 crore for the quarter, compared to ₹666 crore last year.
The bank’s net interest margin (NIM) dropped to 2.9% from 3.10% in Q3FY24. Despite this, the outlook for NIM remains in the range of 3-3.10% for the current fiscal. The Capital Adequacy Ratio fell to 14.72%, down from 15.96% last year, though the bank stated that no additional fundraising is required to support credit growth this year.