SBI Q4 profit jumps 41% as provisions fall, but miss expectations

State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday said its standalone net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 2022 jumped 41% to Rs 9,113.53 crore from Rs 6,450.75 crore in the same period last year. 

However, profit was significantly below analysts’ expectations of around Rs 10,000 crore. 

The stock market did not take too kindly to the numbers as SBI shares were down more than 4% around the end of trade on Friday. The benchmark Sensex closed lower around 0.35% lower, as markets turned negative after staying in the green for most of the day. 

SBI said its board had approved a dividend of Rs 7.1 per share, with the record date set on 26 May. 

Operating profit for FY22 grew by 5.22% to Rs 75,292 crore. For Q4, operating profit was Rs 19,717 crore.

Further, SBI's gross slippages came at Rs 3,606 crore.

Other key highlights

1) SBI's net interest income for the reported quarter came in at Rs 31,198 crore.

2) Net interest income rose 15% to Rs 27,067 crore from a year earlier.

3) Provisions for bad loans were down to almost a third of the level a year back. It kept aside Rs 3,262 crore during the quarter, compared with Rs 9,914 crore.

4) Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) were at 3.97% of the total assets, down from 4.50% sequentially and 4.98% year-on-year.

5) Net NPAs stood at 1.02% compared with 1.34% in Q3 and 1.5% a year earlier.

6) SBI's total deposits grew at 10%. Saving bank deposits grew by 10.45% while term deposits rose 11.54%.

7) Retail portfolio crossed Rs 10 lakh crore. Home loan, which constitutes around 23% of domestic advances, grew by 11.49%.

8) The corporate loan book increased 11.15% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

Company commentary

SBI said its Basel III Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) improved to 13.83%, compared with 13.23% at the end of December quarter, and 13.74% in the year ago quarter.

The bank said that its wholesale advances grew by 11%. Domestic advances growth stood at 10.27% primarily driven by growth in retail personal advances (15.11%). Foreign office advances grew 15.42%.

SBI said that in the year ended March 2022, it infused fresh capital into Jio Payments Bank Ltd, a jointly controlled entity, as well as into Indonesian subsidiary PT Bank SBI Indonesia in which it owns more than 99%.