Overall, it was a set of disappointing numbers from Canara Bank for Q1FY15. A 17% (YOY) fall in other income, a slipping asset quality and a flat 2% growth in net profit at Rs.807 crore; all these facts together pushed the stock into the red after the results were announced. The market simply did not pay heed to two other facts – NII for the quarter was up 22% (YoY) at Rs.2429 crore and provisions fell 14% (YoY) and 28% (QoQ) at Rs.788 crore.

More worrying was the slipping NPA, which in what the market is more tuned into, more than profitability. Gross NPA was up 18 bps (QoQ) at 2.67% and net NPA rose 5 bps at 2.03%. The bank’s loan book grew 21.2% from a year ago to a total of Rs.3.03 trillion during the quarter.