On May 9, the State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, announced a 24 percent increase in net profit to Rs 20,698 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2024, driven by robust loan demand. This marked a significant rise from the net profit of Rs 16,695 crore reported in the same period last year, surpassing analyst estimates of Rs 13,400 crore.
SBI declared a dividend of Rs 13.70 per share for FY24.
As of 1410 hours on May 9, SBI’s shares were trading nearly 3 percent higher at Rs 834.40 apiece.
The bank’s asset quality improved in the March quarter, with gross non-performing assets (GNPA) at 2.24 percent compared to 2.78 percent the previous year, and net NPA at 0.57 percent versus 0.67 percent last year.
SBI experienced robust loan growth in the March quarter, marking one of the highest growth rates in over eight quarters, and achieved a 36-quarter low in the ratio between gross and net NPAs.
Interest earned by SBI grew by 19 percent to Rs 1.11 lakh crore in the reported quarter compared to Rs 92,951 crore a year ago.
In a stock exchange filing, SBI stated, “Credit growth is at 15.24 percent YoY with domestic advances growing by 16.26 percent YoY. Corporate advances and agri advances cross Rs 11 lakh crore and Rs 3 lakh crore, respectively.”
Total income for Q4FY24 rose to Rs 1.28 lakh crore from Rs 1.06 lakh crore in the year-ago period, while operating expenses increased to Rs 30,276 crore from Rs 29,732 crore.
Overall provisions nearly halved to Rs 1,609 crore from Rs 3,315 crore in the year-ago period.
