PNB's standalone interest income for Q2 FY25 increased by 13.4% YoY to Rs. 29,875 crore. This growth was driven by strong performance in interest on advances, bank funds, and investment income.

However, interest expenses also rose by 17.8% YoY to Rs. 19,358 crore due to increasing deposit costs. As a result, the net interest income (NII) grew by 6.0% YoY to Rs. 10,517 crore. The net interest margin (NIM) contracted by 19 basis points YoY to 2.9%, and the cost-to-income ratio increased to 54.6% due to elevated deposit costs.

Despite these challenges, PNB's profit after tax (PAT) increased significantly by 145.1% YoY to Rs. 4,303 crore. This was supported by a 51.0% increase in other income and a substantial reduction in provisions by 91.6%. PNB aims to enhance profitability by focusing on its RAM (Retail, Agriculture, and MSME) portfolio. Geojit Financial Services has upgraded its rating on PNB to BUY and set a revised target price of Rs. 111, based on a valuation of 0.9 times FY26 estimated book value per share.