Federal Bank Ltd on Monday said its third quarter net profit rose 32% on the back of higher other income and lower provision.

The bank posted a net profit ₹440.64 crore for the three months ended 31 December compared to ₹333.63 crore in the year-ago period. Profit was higher than ₹412.7 crore estimated by a Bloomberg poll of 15 analysts.

Net interest income, or the difference between interest earned on loans and that paid on deposits, increased 7.21% to ₹1,154.93 crore from ₹1,077.29 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Other income, which includes core fee income, rose 18.03% to ₹407.86 crore in the three months from ₹345.55 crore a year ago.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs), as a percentage of total advances, were at 2.99% in the December quarter compared with 3.07% in the September quarter and 3.14% in the year-ago December quarter.