SBI Cards Q1 profit rises 20% as card spends jump 27% and credit costs ease
SBI Cards reported Q1 FY27 net profit of Rs 664 crore, supported by a 27% year-on-year rise in card spends to Rs 1.18 lakh crore and a 30% fall in impairment and bad-debt costs. Cards in force grew 7% to 22.6 million, while gross NPA improved to 2.04%.
What happened
SBI Cards and Payment Services · SBI Cards reported a 20% rise in Q1 profit to Rs 664 crore as card spending grew 27% to Rs 1.18 lakh crore and bad loans
Key facts
- Net profit rose 20% YoY to Rs 664 crore from Rs 556 crore
- Total income increased 3.4% YoY to Rs 5,205 crore
- Card spends rose 27% YoY to Rs 1.18 lakh crore
- Cards in force increased 7% YoY to 22.6 million
- New accounts increased to 1.02 million from 873,000
- Gross NPA declined to 2.04% from 3.07%
- Net NPA declined to 0.83% from 1.42%
- Impairment losses and bad-debt expense fell 30% YoY to Rs 948 crore
- Interest income fell 3% YoY to Rs 2,421 crore
- Fee and other income rose 10% YoY to Rs 2,620 crore
- Operating expenses rose 23% YoY to Rs 2,620 crore
- Earnings before credit costs fell 12% to Rs 1,841 crore
- Receivables rose 3% YoY to Rs 58,269 crore
- Capital adequacy ratio was 25.6%; Tier-I ratio was 20.3%
Why this matters
With 22.6 million cards in force and improving NPA metrics, SBI Cards is better positioned to pursue merchant, co-brand and digital-payment partnerships that deepen customer spend.
What to watch
- Whether card-spend growth remains above 20% year on year after the seasonal Q1 period.
- Credit-cost trend versus the 30% year-on-year decline, including early-bucket delinquencies and write-offs.
- Gross NPA sustainability below or near 2.04% as newer card vintages season.
- Growth in cards in force versus spend per card; slower customer additions could signal dependence on existing users.
- RBI consumer-credit rules, unsecured-lending risk weights, interchange regulation or funding-cost changes.
- Competitive intensity from HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, fintech issuers and UPI-linked credit products.
- Increase targeted card acquisition through SBI’s banking customer base, with emphasis on pre-approved and digitally onboarded customers.
- Defend spend share via merchant offers, co-brand partnerships and reward-program personalization.
- Tighten risk-based pricing, credit-line management and early-warning collections to preserve the decline in NPAs.
- Use stronger earnings and improved portfolio quality to selectively invest in technology, fraud controls and cross-sell products.