SBI Q4 net falls 20%, below forecast

SBI posted a 20% fall in quarterly net profit, hurt by higher provisioning for investment writeoffs and the loss of tax benefits.

India's largest lender, State Bank of India, posted a 20 per cent fall in quarterly net profit on Friday, hurt by higher provisioning for investment writeoffs and the loss of tax benefits.

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The state-controlled bank said net profit rose to Rs 8.53 billion ($187.5 million) in the fiscal fourth quarter ended March, down from Rs 10.65 billion a year earlier.

The bank had earned Rs 11.15 billion net profit in the fiscal third quarter ended in December.

Full-year net profit rose 2.3 per cent to Rs 44.06 billion, from Rs 43.05 billion.

SBI, which has been riding a wave of strong loan demand from companies that are expanding capacity and from newly affluent individuals who are buying homes, was hurt by higher provisions due to drop in bond prices in the quarter.

Shares in SBI, which has a market value of $10.8 billion, rose 6.7 per cent during the March quarter, underperforming a 20 per cent gain by the main index, but beating the bank sub-index's 3.6 per cent rise.