Bank of Baroda Reports Marginal Profit Growth in Fourth Quarter
State-owned lender Bank of Baroda reported a small uptick in net profit for the January to March quarter of fiscal year 2024. The bank's profit after tax came in at Rs. 4,886 crore for the fourth quarter, marking a rise of 2.3% from Rs. 4,775 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Total income for the period increased substantially to Rs. 33,775 crore from Rs. 29,323 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year, helped by strong growth in interest earnings. Interest income, which forms a major portion of total income for banks, grew 16% to Rs. 29,583 crore compared to Rs. 25,857 crore in Q4 FY23.
On asset quality, there were positive signs as gross non-performing assets (NPAs) as a percentage of total advances declined to 2.92% from 3.79% in Q4 FY23. Net NPAs also saw an improvement, falling to 0.68% from 0.89% over the same period. This allowed the bank to reduce provisions for bad loans during the quarter under review.
For the full financial year, Bank of Baroda registered healthy growth. Its annual net profit jumped 26% to Rs. 17,789 crore while total income was up 27% at Rs. 1,27,101 crore. Capital adequacy ratio strengthened to 16.31%, demonstrating a robust capital position.
The bank's management will be satisfied with the improving asset quality and building of capital buffers. But given the marginal growth in the latest quarterly profit, continued focus will be required to accelerate the momentum as economic headwinds persist.
