MUMBAI: State Bank of India reported a net profit of Rs 18,331 crore for the Sept quarter, up 28% from Rs 14,330 crore a year ago. This is the highest net profit reported by any entity for the period. SBI’s standalone profit in the preceding quarter stood at Rs 17,035 crore.
On a consolidated basis, the bank’s net profit for Q2 FY25 was up 23% at Rs 19,782 crore. During the period, the bank crossed the Rs 50 lakh crore deposit milestone. Its advances grew 14.9% year-on-year to Rs 39.2 lakh crore while deposits grew 9.1% to nearly Rs 51.2 lakh crore.
SBI’s core net interest income rose 5.37% to Rs 41,620 crore, driven by a 15% increase in advances despite a 0.15% dip in net interest margin to 3.14%. Non-interest income also saw a significant surge of 42%, reaching Rs 15,271 crore, boosted by gains from forex and treasury operations. Newly appointed chairman C S Setty maintained the advances growth target at 14-16% for the fiscal but revised the deposit growth target to around 10%, down from the earlier 12-13%. Setty expressed confidence in achieving double-digit deposit growth.
While announcing the results, Setty said that the profits were driven by containing operating expenses as well as by the increase in interest and non-interest income. Additionally, the spike in employee costs seen last year was not there this year. “Directionally, we are focusing on increasing our core interest income with renewed focus on the non interest income and containing the operational expenses by bringing operational efficiencies,” Setty said.
He added that retail loan growth was projected at 14-16% despite a slowdown in unsecured loans because of focus on asset quality. Corporate loans are anticipated to grow at a rate of 17-18%, supported by a strong pipeline. The bank has received Sebi’s approval to raise Rs 20,000 crore through the issuance of infrastructure bonds.
