Q3 Results: SBI’s Profit Beats Estimates

State Bank of India Ltd. remained profitable for the second-straight quarter.

Net profit stood at Rs 3,955 crore in the quarter ended December compared with a loss of Rs 2,416 crore a year ago, India’s largest lender said in an exchange filing. That’s higher than the Rs 3,270 crore profit estimated by analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

Net interest income, or core income of the bank, rose 21 percent year-on-year to Rs 22,691 crore—in line with the Rs 22,094 crore estimate.

Gross bad loans stood at 8.71 percent compared with 9.95 percent in the preceding quarter. The net non-performing assets were at 3.95 percent against 4.84 percent in the July-September period.

The bank’s provisions stood at Rs 13,971 crore in the October-December period. That’s higher than the Rs 10,185 crore set aside in the previous quarter but lower than the Rs 17,760 crore a year ago. Its provision coverage ratio stood at 74.63 percent compared with 53.95 percent in the previous quarter.

The slippage ratio—the proportion of advances turning bad during the quarter—fell below 1 percent during the quarter. Total slippages stood at Rs 4,523 crore—the lowest in seven quarters.

Shares of SBI rose as much as 3.1 percent after the earnings announcement, compared with a 0.37 percent gain in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.