SBI Cards posts 1% drop in Q1 PBT at Rs 528 cr, net profit rises 13.8%

Spend per card fell sharply to Rs 72,000 in QFY21

SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd posted a 1 per cent drop in its profit before tax (PBT) at Rs 528 crore in the quarter ended June 2020 (Q1FY21). The PBT was Rs 533 crore in quarter ended June 2019 (Q1FY20).

The net profit for the period under review rose 13.8 per cent to Rs 393 crore from Rs 346 crore in Q1FY20.

The company's stock closed almost flat at Rs 751.8 per share on BSE.

The interest income rose 34.6 per cent to Rs 1,412 crore for Q1FY21 from Rs 1,049 crore for Q1 FY20. However, the income from fees and services declined by 27 per cent to Rs 668 crore for Q1FY21 from Rs 916 crore in Q1FY20.

The Impairment losses & bad debts expenses rose by 18.14 per cent to Rs 485 crore from Rs 397 crore for Q1FY20.

The gross advances (credit card receivables) rose 9.9 per cent Rs 23,330 crore in June 2020 from Rs 21,231 crore in June 2019.

Seen sequentially, gross advances were at Rs 25,300 crore just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. That number declined to Rs 21,394 crore in April 2020. The trend turned positive and advances inched up to Rs 21,931 crore in May 2020 and further to Rs 23,330 crore in June 2020.  The accounts in moratorium went down to 0.15 million in June 2020 as against 1.25 million in May 2020.

The spending per card had been on a downward journey. It was at about Rs 1,41,000 in Q1FY20, which declined to Rs 1,26,000 in Q4Fy20 and The fall in Q1FY21 was steeper at Rs 72,000, according to company data.

The gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) improved to 1.35 per cent as on June 30, 2020 down from 2.68 per cent as on June 30, 2019. The provision coverage ratio (PCR) declined to 68.25 per cent as on June 30, 2020 as against 72 per cent as on June 30, 2019.

The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) was 24.4 per cent in June 2020 compared to 18.9 per cent as on June 30, 2019.