Bank of India Q2 result, Profit at Rs127 crore

State-owned Bank of India has reported a net profit of Rs126.84 crore for the second quarter ended September.

The bank had reported a net loss of Rs1,126.24 crore in July-September of 2015-16 on account of higher provision for bad loans as per RBI’s asset quality review guidelines. It had sold 18% in its joint venture Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance to the foreign partner.

“During the quarter, the bank has earned profit before tax amounting to Rs495 crore (Rs323.69 crore net of taxes) from sale of 18% stake in Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd (joint venture of the bank),” it said.

Total income stood at Rs11,469.11 crore for the quarter ended September 2016 whereas the figure was Rs11,317.97 crore for the same quarter of the previous fiscal, it said in a regulatory filing. A decrease in reserves towards bad loans in the form of provisions as well as contingencies at Rs2,296.22 crore for the quarter under review against Rs3,237.39 crore a year ago helped.

However, asset quality remained an issue as gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose to 13.45% of gross advances at the end of September 2016, from 7.55% a year earlier. Net NPAs or bad loans were 7.56% of net advances for the period under review, up from 4.31% a year ago.

In absolute terms, gross NPAs stood at Rs52,261.95 crore as on September 2016, from the earlier Rs29,293.67 crore. Net NPAs were at Rs27,467.05 crore as against the previous Rs16,466.48 crore. The provision coverage ratio of the bank at the end of the second quarter stood at 55.23%, from 55.08% in the year-ago period.