State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday reported a 41.30 per cent increase in standalone net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 on lower provisions, but it missed analyst estimates sending the scrip lower on the stock exchanges.

India’s No. 1 lender posted a net profit of Rs 9,113.53 crore compared with Rs 6,450.75 crore in the same period of the previous year. Analysts had expected SBI to post a net profit of around Rs 10,000 crore.

A sharp fall in provisions to Rs 7,237.45 crore from Rs 11,051.03 crore in the year-ago period led to the jump in profit.

Provisions for non-performing assets (NPAs) fell to Rs 3,261.69 crore against Rs 9,914.23 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.

During the period, core net interest income — interest earned minus interest paid — rose 15.26 per cent to Rs 31,198 crore from Rs 27,067 crore in the previous year. Net interest margins (NIMs) rose 29 basis points to 3.11 per cent. But other income declined to Rs 11,880.15 crore from Rs 16,225.32 crore in the year-ago period.

The bank attributed the fall in the non-interest income to a large recovery in the fourth quarter of last year. The percentage of gross NPAs fell to 3.97 per cent from 4.50 per cent on a sequential basis and 4.98 per cent a year ago.

SBI chairman Khara said the bank has made adequate provisions for accounts where it is seeing any kind of stress and does not expect any surprises coming from NPAs.

The bank has seen more responsible borrowings and this could lead to a stable asset quality even if interest rates are on the upward trend. ``We are seeing a situation where people have started repaying as per their original repayment schedule,” he added.

Responding to a query on the exposure to the Future and Srei groups, Khara said both the accounts are being fully provided for.

SBI, Khara said, has potential loan proposals of Rs 4.6 lakh crore from companies. He calculated the figure on the basis of applications for loans made to the bank and the unutilised portion of working capital and term loans. These are loans that have been sanctioned but not drawn.

The State k scrip ended on a weak note at the bourses Friday. The share settled 3.76 per cent or Rs 17.40 lower at Rs 445.05 on the BSE.