BoM profit jumps 187% to Rs 165 cr; makes Covid provisions of Rs 583 cr

Agriculture had a good year, so recoveries were good and retail loans also saw comparatively better recoveries, he said.

Public sector lender Bank of Maharashtra on Thursday reported a 187% year-on-year rise in its net profit to Rs 165 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, aided by a 35% growth in net interest income (NII) to Rs 1,383 crore.
The net interest margin improved to 3.11% compared to 2.41% in the March 2020 quarter.

There was also a one-time other income of Rs 508 crore on account of recovery from the Bhushan Power account. This amount was written off earlier but a one time recovery was made during the March quarter. The bank saw a 215% increase in non-interest income to Rs 1,235 crore.

AS Rajeev, MD & CEO, BoM, said the bank’s asset quality had improved with decline in gross NPA to 7.23% from 12.81% and net NPA from 4.77% to 2.48%. Gross NPA was down to Rs 7,779.68 crore from Rs 12,152 crore while net NPA was at Rs 2,544.3 crore from Rs 4,145 crore.

There has been a reduction in NPAs in all the sectors, including agriculture and retail, as well as corporate loans, Rajeev said. Agriculture had a good year, so recoveries were good and retail loans also saw comparatively better recoveries, he said.

Taking the second wave into consideration, the bank had decided to make additional COVID provisions of Rs 583 crore for any contingencies, he said. But Rajeev did not expect any adverse impact on FY22 performance because of the second wave and the bank would be able to perform well this financial year as the country was better prepared to handle this.

Rajeev said the bank plans to raise capital of up to Rs 5,000 crore by way of follow-on public offer, QIP, rights issue or bonds. This could happen in second or third quarter of FY22 depending on market conditions.

BoM reported a 35% growth in MSME lending, 26% growth in retail lending and 12% growth in agriculture loans during the March quarter.

BoM’s total business as on March 31 was up 15% to Rs 2,81,659 crore, with deposits rising by 16% to Rs 1,74,006 crore and advances going up by 18% to Rs

1,07,654 crore.