At nearly Rs 21k crore, SBI posts highest ever profit in a quarter

MUMBAI: SBI reported its highest ever net profit of Rs 20,698 crore in Q4 - also the biggest quarterly profit by any Indian bank. The state-owned lender's profit rose 24% from 16,695 crore in the year-ago period, beating analyst expectations of around Rs 14,000 crore.
SBI's profit is also the highest reported by any entity in this quarter. Reliance Industries posted a net profit of Rs 18,951 crore in Q4, while HDFC Bank, which was previously the most profitable lender, reported a profit of Rs 16,512 crore in the same period.SBI's FY24 net profit stood at Rs 61,077 crore - a growth of 22% over the previous year - after accounting for wage settlement and a one-time exceptional item of Rs 7,100 crore.

After the announcement, the bank's shares closed at Rs 820, a 1% gain despite an over 1,000-point fall in the sensex. The gain added over Rs 8,000 crore to SBI's market cap, which now stands at Rs 7.3 lakh crore behind ICICI Bank (Rs 7.8 lakh crore) and HDFC Bank (Rs 11 lakh crore). SBI declared a dividend of Rs 13.7 per share.
According to Rajul Malani, an analyst with Sharekhan, the net interest margin was better than expected, supported by strong fee income and higher treasury gains. Operating expenses were lower mainly due to reduced provisions for wage settlements. Credit costs remained low, and asset quality improved quarter-on-quarter due to reduced slippages and increased recoveries/write-offs.
The bank's margins improved because the bank's credit growth during the quarter outpaced deposit growth. As of the end of March 2024, the bank's deposits stood at Rs 47.6 lakh crore, an increase of 11.1% from Rs 44.2 lakh crore a year earlier. Advances grew 15.2% to Rs 37.7 lakh crore, up from Rs 32.7 lakh crore a year earlier.
SBI chairman Dinesh Khara announced that the bank would maintain credit growth at 14-16% during the current financial year and deposit growth at around 13%.
Khara said credit demand was seen in infrastructure, semiconductors, electric vehicles, renewables, and hydrogen in addition to the traditional core sectors of iron, steel and cement. He added that the working capital utilisation has come down significantly, and there is a pipeline of Rs 4 lakh crore that is either sanctioned or in the process of being sanctioned.