Shares of State Bank of India (SBI) gained nearly 2% on Thursday after the country's largest lender reported its September quarter earnings, with a rise in net interest income and lower loan loss provisions supporting its profitability.
The stock was trading at Rs 998.15, up Rs 19.15 or 1.96%, on the NSE at 12:35 pm.
SBI reported a 14.3% year-on-year increase in standalone net profit to Rs 23,038 crore for Q2FY27. Net interest income rose 14.7% to Rs 49,143 crore, while net interest margin improved to 3.1% from just over 3% a year ago. Loan loss provisions declined 33% to Rs 2,759 crore, reflecting an improvement in asset quality.
However, operating profit rose a relatively modest 7.3% to Rs 34,226 crore, as other income declined 24% to Rs 11,777 crore.
SBI chairman CS Setty reiterated the bank's guidance of 10-11% deposit growth and 14-15% credit growth for FY27. He said the bank had a corporate loan pipeline of Rs 7.8 lakh crore and did not face any immediate need to raise deposit rates, given its comfortable liquidity position.