SBI clocks highest quarterly net profit

New Delhi: India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday reported a 69 per cent jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,889.84 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, mainly due to a decline in bad loans. The bank's net profit was Rs 5,245.88 crore in the July-September quarter of the previous fiscal, SBI said in a regulatory filing.

The total income of the SBI group rose to Rs 1,01,143.26 crore in the quarter under review, compared to Rs 95,373.50 crore in the year-ago period. On a standalone basis, the bank's net profit rose 67 per cent to Rs 7,627 crore against Rs 4,574.16 crore. The bank has registered its highest quarterly net profit, it said in a statement. During the quarter, the operating profit increased by 9.84 per cent to Rs 18,079 crore from Rs 16,460 crore a year ago.

The lender's total income increased to Rs 77,689.09 crore from Rs 75,341.80 crore in the July-September quarter of the last fiscal. The asset quality of the bank improved with the gross non-performing assets (NPAs) declining to 4.90 per cent of the gross advances as of September 30, 2021, from 5.28 per cent a year ago. Net NPAs or bad loans too declined to 1.52 per cent of the advances from 1.59 per cent in the year-ago period. As a result, provisions for bad loans declined significantly to Rs 2,699 crore from Rs 5,619 crore. Provision Coverage Ratio at the end of September declined marginally to 87.68 per cent from 88.19 per cent at the end of the second quarter last financial year.

The net interest margin of the bank rose to 3.50 per cent, up 16 basis points on an annual basis. During the quarter, the bank has utilised an amount of Rs 2,884 crore for making specific provisions against stressed assets, it said, adding the total provision for COVID-19 uncertainty as of September 30 stands at Rs 6,181 crore. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at the end of the quarter stood at 13.35 per cent against 14.72 per cent.