SBI Reports 6% Year-Over-Year Net Profit Growth in Q4, Falling Short of Analyst Estimates

State Bank of India Reports 5.6% YoY Rise in Fiscal Fourth Quarter Net Profit

State Bank of India (SBI), India's largest lender, has reported a sharp rise in its fiscal fourth quarter standalone net profit, albeit missing street expectations. The bank's net profit for the quarter stood at Rs 19,684 crore, a year-over-year growth of 5.6 percent. Despite the higher net profit, the figure fell short of the Rs 20,312 crore estimated by analysts, as per data compiled by Reuters-LSEG.

The bank's net interest income (NII), which represents the difference between interest earned and interest paid, rose 4.1 percent year-on-year to Rs 44,380 crore from Rs 42,618 crore a year ago. However, the NII also failed to meet market expectations. State Bank of India's stock was trading at Rs 1,037.5 in afternoon trade, down 5 percent for the day.

On the asset quality front, SBI reported a further improvement in its gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio, which declined to 1.49 percent from 1.57 percent in the previous quarter. The net NPA ratio remained flat sequentially at 0.39 percent. In absolute terms, gross NPAs stood at Rs 73,452.5 crore compared with Rs 73,636.8 crore in the December quarter. Net NPAs, however, increased sequentially to Rs 18,830 crore from Rs 18,012 crore.

Read also: SpaceX Seeks Record $75 Billion IPO, Potentially Positioning Elon Musk as the World's First Trillionaire

Provisions during the quarter fell sharply to Rs 2,872 crore, compared with Rs 4,507 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 6,441 crore in the year-ago period, supporting overall profitability despite the softer-than-expected NII performance. The bank's income from treasury operations fell to Rs 1,259 crore from Rs 8,991 crore a year earlier; other income declined to Rs 17,314 crore from Rs 24,367 crore a year earlier, down about 29%.

The sharp decline in treasury income can be attributed to rising bond yields, which reduce the value of banks' bond holdings, according to Reuters. The bank's board has declared a dividend of Rs 17.35 per equity share, with the record date for determining the eligibility of shareholders to receive the dividend set at 16 May 2026. The dividend payout date is set at 4 June 2026.

Note: The table shows the net interest income for the fiscal fourth quarter and the corresponding year-over-year growth.

Read also: Treasury Yields Experience Largest Increase in Two Weeks Following Release of Labor Market Data