SBI Q2 Results: Net profit up 67% at Rs 7,627 crore; NII beats Street estimates

State Bank of India (SBI) -- the country's largest lender by assets -- on Wednesday reported a net profit of Rs 7,626.6 crore for the quarter ended September. That was up 66.7 percent on a year-on-year basis. SBI shares recovered intraday losses after the earnings announcement.

The lender's net profit missed Street estimates, but its net interest income (NII) -- the difference between interest earned and interest paid -- exceeded analysts' forecasts.

State Bank of India reported an operating profit of Rs 18,079 crore for the three months to September. That was up 9.8 percent on year but down 4.7 percent sequentially.

Its domestic net interest margin (NIM) -- a key measure of profitability for lenders -- came in at 3.50 percent in the July-September period, up by 16 basis points on year.

SBI reported net interest income of Rs 31,183.9 crore for the quarter ended September, up 10.7 percent on a year-on-year basis. Analysts polled by CNBC-TV18 had estimated the lender's NII at Rs 28,751.4 crore.

SBI's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) came in at 4.9 percent in the second quarter of the current financial year, as against 5.32 percent in the three months to March 31.

Its net NPAs came down to 1.52 percent in the July-September period, from 1.77 percent in the previous three months.

SBI saw loan growth of 6.5 percent in the three-month period on a year-on-year basis, as against analysts' expectation of 5-6 percent.

Loan growth stood at 0.46 percent sequentially. Analysts polled by CNBC-TV18 had estimated growth to remain flat sequentially.

SBI shares rose as much as 3.9 percent after the lender posted its financial results. At 2:00 pm, the SBI stock was up 3.2 percent at Rs 538.3 apiece on BSE. The headline Sensex index was flat amid choppy trade.