SBI Q3 net profit beats forecast
State Bank of India, the nation's top commercial bank, beat market expectations on Friday with a 20 percent jump in quarterly profit as it rode a lending boom in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The result lifted its shares more than 4 percent as investors expected a consumption boom in India for cars and consumer goods to houses would drive demand for loans in the fastest growing major economy after China.
India's economy is expected to expand 6-6.5 percent in the current fiscal year to March, and the state-controlled SBI has about one fifth of all banking business in India.
SBI reported a net profit of 10.99 billion rupees ($252 million) for the fiscal third-quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of 9.2 billion in the same period a year ago.
State Bank of India, the nation's top commercial bank, beat market expectations on Friday with a 20 percent jump in quarterly profit as it rode a lending boom in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The result lifted its shares more than 4 percent as investors expected a consumption boom in India for cars and consumer goods to houses would drive demand for loans in the fastest growing major economy after China.
India's economy is expected to expand 6-6.5 percent in the current fiscal year to March, and the state-controlled SBI has about one fifth of all banking business in India.
SBI reported a net profit of 10.99 billion rupees ($252 million) for the fiscal third-quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of 9.2 billion in the same period a year ago.