Canara Bank Q3 profit jumps over twofold as bad loan provisioning dips

New Delhi: Public sector lender Canara Bank Monday reported over twofold jump in net profit at Rs 317.52 crore for December quarter 2018 as provisioning for bad loans declined.

The bank had logged a net profit of Rs 125.75 crore in October-December 2017.

Total income in the reported quarter stood at Rs 13,513.35 crore as compared to Rs 12,341.09 crore in the year-ago period, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

The bank's asset quality improved a tad with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) falling to 10.25 percent of gross loans as at December-end 2018 against 10.38 percent in the year-ago period.

Net NPAs or bad loans too came down to 6.37 percent of net advances from 6.78 percent by December-end 2017.

In absolute value, gross bad loans of the lender stood at Rs 44,621.27 crore as on December 31, 2018 as compared to Rs 4,311.98 crore a year ago.

Net bad loans were valued at Rs 26,591.07 crore as against Rs 25,295.26 crore.

Provisions and contingencies during the reported quarter stood at Rs 1,977.34 crore as compared to Rs 2,673.64 crore in the same period of 2017-18.

Provision Coverage Ratio at December-end 2018 was 62.54 percent.

Canara Bank said its employee stock purchase scheme (CanBank ESPS) which kicked off on January 21 and closed on January 25 was oversubscribed by 134 percent due to good participation from employees.

"Under the said issue of up to 2 crore equity shares under tranche-I, the bank will be raising a capital of approximately Rs 557 crore," it said in the filing.

The completion of allotment procedure of the said issue and final allotment will be informed to stock exchanges as and when the same is completed, it added.

Stock of Canara Bank closed 5.23 percent down at Rs 240.30 on BSE.