Shares of top lender State Bank of India (SBI) were gaining on Thursday after the company posted upbeat results in the fourth quarter.

What Happened: SBI reported a 24% rise in net profit to ₹20,698 crore for the quarter ended March 31, owing to robust demand for loan compared with ₹16,695 crore in the year-ago period. The figure handily beat analyst estimates of ₹13,400 crore.

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The bank’s net interest income for the quarter came in at ₹41,655 crore, up 3.13% from ₹40,393 crore posted a year ago.

The public lender declared a final dividend of ₹13.70 per share for FY24.

The bank’s asset quality improved in the March quarter. Its gross non-performing asset (GNPA) stood at 2.24% as against 2.78% last year, while net NPA came in at 0.57% compared to 0.67% last year.

Price Action: SBI’s share price was up 2.33% at ₹829.70 in afternoon trade on Thursday, following the announcement of the results.

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