Central Bank of India delivered robust second-quarter results with standalone net profit rising 21.1% year-on-year to ₹1,469 crore for the September quarter of FY27, compared with ₹1,213 crore in the corresponding period last year. According to latest reports, the bank's net interest income (NII) surged 26.3% to ₹4,146 crore from ₹3,283 crore in the year-ago period. On a sequential basis, net profit rose 10.95% from ₹1,324 crore in the previous quarter, while operating profit climbed 26.99% to ₹2,268 crore from ₹1,786 crore a year earlier. Total income increased 15% to ₹11,737 crore from ₹10,213 crore in the previous year, with interest income rising 18.45% to ₹10,357 crore supported by a 27.6% increase in interest earned on advances to ₹7,231 crore. The cost-to-income ratio improved to 58.95% from 62.42% a year ago, while operating expenses increased 9.8% to ₹3,258 crore. Other income including fees and treasury dropped 6% year-on-year to ₹1,380 crore from ₹1,469 crore a year ago, with treasury income falling 31.2% to ₹128 crore from ₹186 crore a year ago.
The bank's asset quality showed significant sequential improvement with gross NPAs declining to 2.39% of total loans in the September quarter, down from 2.60% in the previous quarter and 3.01% a year earlier. As reported by Business Standard, net NPAs fell to 0.31% from 0.49% in the previous quarter and 0.48% a year earlier. In absolute terms, gross NPAs stood at ₹9,109 crore as of September 30, compared with ₹8,827 crore a year ago and ₹9,225 crore in June. Net NPAs declined to ₹1,146 crore from ₹1,364 crore in the corresponding period last year. Fresh slippages declined to ₹734 crore during the quarter from ₹939 crore in Q1FY27, with the slippage ratio at 0.24% on a non-annualised basis, down 6 basis points year-on-year. Provisions for non-performing assets rose to ₹490 crore from ₹143 crore a year earlier, while provisions on standard assets increased to ₹379 crore from ₹30 crore. The Provision Coverage Ratio improved to 97.16% from 95.86% in June and 96.88% a year ago.
Central Bank of India demonstrated strong business expansion with global advances growing 29.83% year-on-year to ₹3.81 trillion during the quarter, driven by robust growth across retail, agriculture and MSME (RAM) sectors. According to Business Standard, corporate advances increased 42.05% to ₹1.19 trillion, while retail, agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprise (RAM) advances grew 21.11% to ₹2.54 trillion. Retail loans rose 24.49%, with housing loans growing 13.07% and automobile loans increasing 13.09%. Global deposits increased 14.41% to ₹5.09 trillion, with CASA deposits rising 9.2% to ₹2.26 lakh crore. Total global business rose 20.54% to ₹8.90 trillion. The credit-deposit ratio increased to 75.02% from 66.20% a year ago, while the CASA ratio declined 218 basis points to 44.65%.
The bank's profitability metrics showed significant improvement with net interest margin (NIM) improving to 3.01% from 2.89% a year ago, supported by a 28 basis points decline in cost of deposits to 4.60% and a 49 basis points fall in yield on advances to 7.87%. As per Business Standard, interest expenses rose 13.7% to ₹6,211 crore, while non-interest income declined 6.06% year-on-year to ₹1,380 crore. Provisions and contingencies, including income tax, increased 39.4% to ₹799 crore from ₹573 crore a year ago, though they declined 7.3% sequentially from ₹862 crore. Profit on sale of investments declined 30% to ₹133 crore, while the bank recorded a loss of ₹87 crore on revaluation of investments compared with a loss of ₹51 crore a year earlier. Fee-based income rose 3.9% to ₹635 crore, while recoveries in written-off accounts and other receipts fell 8.2% to ₹617 crore.
The bank's capital position strengthened during the quarter with Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) improving to 17.68% at the end of September from 17.34% a year earlier and 18.28% in June. As per Business Standard, the Common Equity Tier-I ratio improved to 15.97% from 14.98% a year ago, providing a stronger foundation for future growth and regulatory compliance. For the first half of FY27, the bank reported a 17.25% increase in net profit to ₹2,793 crore from ₹2,382 crore a year ago. Central Bank of India shares rose 0.4% to close at ₹30.9 apiece on BSE in Friday's trade, as reported by CNBC TV18. At current levels, the stock has lost 17.6% of its value so far this year, performing worse than the Nifty 50's decline of 11.5% and Nifty Bank's decline of 6.5%.
