SBI Card Q4 net up 3% to Rs 596 cr on rise in finance, operating costs

SBI Card, India’s second largest credit card issuer, on Friday reported a 2.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in its net profit to Rs 596 crore in the March quarter (Q4), led by increase in finance and operating costs.

Sequentially, its net profit jumped 17 per cent from Rs 509 crore reported in the October-December period. While the bank’s finance costs rose 90 per cent YoY to Rs 507 crore, operating costs rose by 26 per cent to Rs 1,980 crore. This is despite the total income growing 30 per cent YoY to Rs 3,917 crore.

New accounts volume and cards-in-force grew by 37 per cent and 22 per cent to 1.37 million and 16.8 million, respectively. The spending grew by 32 per cent to Rs 71,686 crore in the last quarter of FY23 compared to Q4FY22.

In the cards-in-force category, the company’s market share rose to 19.7 per cent in FY23 from 18.7 per cent in FY22, but its share in the spends category declined to 18.2 per cent against 19.2 per cent in the year-ago period. It, however, occupied the second position in both categories.

Impairment losses and bad debts expenses increased by 60 per cent at Rs 630 crore in Q4 against Rs 393 crore in the same period a year ago.

Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) increased to 2.35 per cent of gross advances as of March 31 as against 2.22 per cent at the end of FY22.