Mumbai May 8 (IANS): Canara Bank on Wednesday reported an 18.4 per cent rise in its net profit to Rs 3,757.23 crore for the January-March quarter of 2023-24 compared to the same period of the previous year.

On a sequential basis, the bank's net profit rose 2.8 per cent over the October-December quarter.

Canara Bank's board of directors has recommended a dividend of Rs 16.10/- per equity share (161 per cent) of face value of Rs 10 per share.

Canara Bank's net interest income (NII) rose 11 per cent to Rs 9,580 crore during the fourth quarter.

The asset quality of the bank also improved during the quarter with gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio declining to 4.23 percent of total loans from 5.35 per cent in the same period last year.

The net NPA ratio stood at 1.27 per cent as on March 31, as compared to 1.73 per cent in the year-ago period.

The bank's provisions against bad loans also declined to Rs 2,482 crore during the fourth quarter from Rs 3,095 crore in the same period last year.

The shares of Canara Bank were hovering at around Rs 593 apiece on BSE on Wednesday.