Rs2,731.34 crore came from partial stake sale in SBI Cards
MUMBAI: State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest bank with an asset base of Rs39.51 lakh crore (Rs41.98 lakh crore for the group) reported a 327.1 per cent jump in its net profit for the March-ended quarter (Q4) at Rs3,580.81 from Rs838.40 the bank logged in for the same period last year.
The big growth in profit was supported by an exceptional item- a one-time profit of Rs2,731.34 crore earned from the partial sale of its stake in its subsidiary, SBI Cards & Payment Services Ltd, where it used to hold 74 per cent, during the quarter under review.
SBI’s full year net profit stood at Rs14,488 crore against Rs862 crore earned by the bank in the previous financial year, and the FY20 net profit is considered to be the highest ever profit recorded by the bank, or by any bank for that matter.
The full-year profit also included another one time item, Rs3,484.30 crore profit, booked from the sale of the bank’s stake in its subsidiary, SBI Life Insurance Company, in September 2019.
Shares of SBI closed at Rs189.25 after surging 8 per cent to an intraday high of Rs189.80 following the announcement of the bank’s results.
An analysis of the financials shows that the net interest income of the bank fell 0.81 per cent to Rs 22,767 crore during the quarter from Rs22,954 crore a year ago. However, the full year net interest income grew 11.02 per cent from Rs88,349 crore to Rs98,085 crore.
There has been improvement in the asset quality of the bank during the period under review, especially during the fourth quarter. Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) as a percentage of gross advances declined to 6.15 per cent from 6.94 per cent compared with the previous quarter and 7.53 per cent a year ago.
Net NPAs dropped 40 basis points to 2.23 per cent from 2.65 per cent in the December quarter and 3.01 per cent in March 2019.
Fresh slippages were down sharply by 51 per cent to Rs 8,105 crore at the end of March quarter 2020, compared with Rs16,525 crore as of end-December, 2019.
