MUMBAI: Net profit of country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) more than doubled to Rs 2,814.82 crore for the March quarter as its net NPAs or bad loans narrowed to 3.7 per cent of total advances.
The state-owned bank had in contrast registered standalone net profit of Rs 1,263.81 crore in the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal, 2015-16.
The standalone net profit of the bank in 2016-17 increased by 5.36 per cent to Rs 10,484 crore from Rs 9,951 crore in the previous financial year.
However, for the year ended March 2017, SBI's consolidated net profit declined by about 98 per cent to Rs 241.23 crore from Rs 12,224.59 crore at the end of 2015-16 as the banks provisioning for the entire year had increased significantly.
Gross Non Performing Assets for SBI Group increased to 9.04 per cent from 6.40 per cent while net NPAs rose to 5.15 per cent as against 3.73 per cent at the end of March 2016.
On standalone basis, gross NPAs rose from 6.5 per cent to 6.9 per cent for the quarter ended March.
Net NPAs declined however from 3.81 per cent to 3.71 per cent during the same period.
According to SBI statement, 'loan loss provisions' were lowered to Rs 10,993 crore during the fourth quarter of last fiscal as against Rs 12,139 crore in the year-ago period.
It further said that in absolute terms the gross NPAs increased to Rs 1,12,343 crore on March 2017 from Rs 98,173 crore in the same period last year.
The operating profit of the bank for the fourth quarter increased by 12.93 per cent, from Rs 14,192 crore in the year-ago period, to Rs 16,026 crore.
Net interest income increased by 17.33 per cent from Rs 15,401 crore in the last quarter of 2015-16 to Rs 18,071 crore for the fourth quarter of last fiscal.
Total interest income increased by 10.36 per cent from Rs 42,942 crore in the fourth quarter of 2015-16 to Rs 47,393 crore in same period of 2016-17.
Net Interest Margin (Domestic) declined by 0.16 per cent to 3.11 per cent as on March 2017 from 3.27 per cent at the end of previous fiscal.
The fourth quarter result does not take into account acquisition of its five associates State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, and State Bank of Hyderabad and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) as the merger came into effect from April 1.
SBI stock was trading nearly 2 per cent up at Rs 308.70 on BSE shortly before close of the session.