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Mumbai, May 18
State Bank of India reported an 83 per cent year-on-year (yoy) jump in its fourth quarter standalone net profit at ₹16,695 crore, beating street expectations. This is the bank’s highest quarterly net profit even as its asset quality improved further.
The profitability came on the back of robust growth in net interest income and other income, and sharp decline in provisions, including towards non-performing assets/NPAs. The bank reported ₹9,114 crore net profit in the year-ago period.
Net profit in the reporting was up about 18 per cent sequentially. The bank had logged ₹14,205 crore net profit in the preceding quarter. Broking firms were expecting the net profit of India’s largest bank to rise by about 66 per cent.
Dividend declared
The bank’s board declared a dividend of ₹11.30 per equity share (1130 per cent) for the financial year ended March 31, 2023.
Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman, said for the third consecutive quarter, the bank posted its highest ever quarterly net profit.
“For the full year, our net profit has crossed the landmark number of ₹50,000 crore (up 58.58 per cent yoy at ₹50,232 crore), which is the highest ever by any bank in India,” he said.
Gaurav Jani, Research Analyst, Prabhudas Lilladher (PLe), said net profit at ₹16,700 crore surpassed expectations (of ₹15,400 crore) led by lower provisions and tax rate (21.6 per cent vs 27 per cent in Q3).
Net interest income rose 29 per cent yoy to ₹40,393 crore (₹31,198 crore) on the back of improvement in yields and continued credit offtake.
Other income, comprising fee-based income, treasury income and other non-interest income, was up 18 per cent yoy at ₹13,961 crore (₹11,880 crore).
Provisions (other than tax), including towards NPAs declined 54 per cent yoy to ₹3,316 crore (₹7,237 crore).
NPA position
The bank’s gross NPA position improved to 2.78 per cent of gross advances against 3.14 per cent in the preceding quarter. This is the lowest level in more than 10 years.
Jani said operating expenses was a miss and rose by 22 per cent sequentially to ₹29,700 crore (PLe estimate of ₹25,900 crore) led by both higher employee and other expenses.
SBI’s shares closed at ₹574.15 apiece, down 2.11 per cent over the previous close on BSE.
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