Total income dropped 2% to Rs 2,468 crore in the quarter ended March 2021 from Rs 2,510 crore a year earlier mainly due to a 20% drop in interest income to Rs 1,072 crore from Rs 1,348 crore in March 2020.
However fee income increased 16% to Rs 1,114 crore in March 2021 from Rs 959 crore a year ealier.
The company which like its peers was hit by delays in payments last fiscal, stepped up recovery as a result other income doubled to Rs 159 crore in the quarter ended March 2021 from Rs 77 crore in March 2020.
A 27% decrease in finance costs during the quarter also helped profits. Total finance costs dropped to Rs 277 crore in March 2021 from Rs 334 crore in March 2020.
SBI Card had a 19% market share in terms of credit cards in force up from 18.3% a year ago.
Total cards in force grew by 12% to 1.18 crore as of March 2021 from 1.05 crore in March 2020 while spends grew by 11% at Rs 35,943 cr from Rs 32,429 cr in March 2020.
Gross NPAs increased to 4.99% of loans from 2.01% a year earlier as the RBI moratorium on classifying loans as NPAs ended with the Surpeme Court order in March. Net NPA also increased to 1.15% from 0.67% a year ago.
The company has restructured 2.90 lakh accounts totalling Rs 2,668 crore under the one time restructuring allowed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which has increased provisions by Rs 76 crore.
These loans make up for more than 10% of the company’s gross advances at Rs 25,114 crore as of March 2021.
In its notes to accounts the company acknowledged that the economic slowdown due to the Covid 19 pandemic has led to a decrease in the use of credit cards by customers and the efficiency in collection efforts.
“This may lead to a rise in the number of customer defaults andconsequently an increase in provisions there against. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic, includingthe current “second wave” that has significantly increased the number of cases in India, will continue to impact the company’s results will depend on ongoing as well as future developments, which are highly uncertain,including, among other things, any new information concerning the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and any action to contain its spread or mitigate its impact whether government-mandated or elected by us,” SBI Card said.
Based on its current estimates, it has created additional provision of Rs 297 crore on expected credit loss.
