State Bank of India shares jumped over 8 per cent on Friday
after the PSU lender reported stable asset quality in the December quarter. SBI
was the top Nifty gainer and helped the Sensex rally past 29,000 levels in noon
trades.
SBI's gross non-performing assets, as a percentage of
advances, stood at 4.90 per cent (or Rs 61,991 crore) as compared to 4.89 per
cent in the September quarter. Net NPA (without provisions) in the December
quarter stood at 2.80 per cent versus 2.73 per cent in the previous quarter.
Analysts said SBI has managed to buck the trend shown by
many other PSU lenders that reported a sharp deterioration in asset quality in
the December quarter. SBI's numbers are better than other PSU banks, said
Dhirendra Tiwari, head of research at Antique Stock Broking.
"Probably poor asset quality has peaked... with lower
rates, credit growth might pick up and NPAs will fall," he added.
SBI's net profit rose 30 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,910
crore, missing estimates, but analysts said higher provisioning for bad loans
dented profits. Provisions stood at Rs 5,235 crore as against Rs 4,275 crore in
the previous quarter.
Net interest income or the different between interest paid
on deposits and earned on advances rose 9 per cent year-on-year at Rs 13,777
crore, meeting estimates.
Shares in SBI ended 8.23 per cent higher at Rs 307.70 apiece
on the National Stock Exchange.
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