Bank of Maharashtra Q1 net doubles to Rs 208 cr, major improvement in NPAs

NII up 29% in Q1FY22 to Rs 1,406 crore; NIM rises to 3.05% from 2.43% a year ago

Bank of Maharashtra's net profit rose by 106 per cent to Rs 208 crore in the first quarter ended June 2021 (Q1FY22) on the back of improvement in net interest margins.

The Pune-based public sector lender, had posted a net profit of Rs 101 crore during the same quarter last year (Q1FY21). Sequentially, net profit grew by 26 per cent from Rs 165 crore in the quarter ended March 2021 (Q4Fy21).

Ahead of the result, the Bank's stock closed 1.9 per cent lower at Rs 23.2 per share on BSE.

Its net interest income (NII) rose by 29 per cent in Q1FY22 to Rs 1,406 crore from Rs 1,088 crore in Q1FY21. Net interest margin (NIM) for the reporting quarter rose to 3.05 per cent for Q1FY22 from 2.43 per cent for Q1FY21. However, sequentially NIM moderated from 3.11 per cent in Q4FY21.

A S Rajeev, its managing director and chief executive, said the NIM for FY22 is expected to stay above three per cent.

Non-interest income was up by 87 per cent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 691 crore in Q1FY22. Sequentially, it dipped sharply from Rs 1,235 crore in Q4FY21. The other income for March-21 quarter was higher due to recovery in written-off accounts (Bhushan Power) of Rs 508 crore. The other income for June-21 included Rs 75.31 crore through sale of Priority Sector Lending Certificates of Rs 5,000 crore.

The bank's asset quality profile improved with gross non-performing assets at 6.35 per cent by June 2021 from 10.93 per cent during the year-ago quarter. Net NPAs dipped to 2.22 per cent during the quarter from 4.1 per cent a year ago.

Bank has guided for reducing GNPA below six per cent and net NPA below two per cent by March 2022.

Provisions for non-performing assets rose to Rs 501 crore in Q1FY22 from Rs 409 crore in Q1FY21. The provision coverage ratio (PCR) rose to 90.7 per cent for the quarter under review from 85.62 per cent a year ago.

Advances were up 14 per cent to Rs 1,10,592 crore in Q1FY22, while deposits also grew by 14 per cent to Rs 1,74,378 crore in June 2021. Bank expects advances to grow by 14-15 per cent in the current financial year, Rajeev said.

The bank’s total Capital Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) stood at 14.46 per cent in June 202, up from 13.21 per cent in June 2020.