BoB Q3 profit up 18% on strong growth in fee-income

Backed by a healthy growth in core fee-income, Bank of Baroda (BoB), overcame challenging market conditions to post a 17.5 per cent jump in net profit in the third quarter, overshadowing the muted earnings posted by many of its peers.

The bank's third-quarter net profit grew to Rs 832.49 crore as against Rs 708.3 crore in the year-ago period as core fee-based income, which comprises commissions, bank guarantees and various charges, rose to Rs 356 crore in the third quarter compared to Rs 280 crore a year-back.

The good growth was despite a visible decline in its bond investments and lower treasury gains in the reporting quarter. Treasury income slipped to Rs 1,107.9 crore in the quarter from Rs 1,273.7 crore in the year-ago period.

BoB also bettered other banking biggies like SBI and ICICI Bank in loan growth during the period. Its advances grew an impressive 19 per cent in the quarter. Retail loans grew by 18.6 per cent, SME advances by 47 per cent and farm-loans by 20 per cent.

Because of challenging market conditions many lenders, including State Bank and ICICI Bank, India's two largest banks, had posted weak earnings in the third-quarter. While SBI posted a nearly flat net profit, ICICI Bank saw a 13 per cent dip in at Rs 1,101 crore.