SBI Pays Rs 8,076.84 Crore Dividend to Centre for FY25
- SBI paid Rs 8,076.84 crore to the Centre, up 16% from last year.
- Despite a 10% profit dip, asset quality and margins improved.
- SBI to raise up to Rs 25,000 crore in FY26 for growth.
State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, paid a dividend of Rs 8,076.84 crore to the Government of India for the financial year 2024-25, marking a 16.06% increase from the Rs 6,959 crore payout made in the previous year. The dividend cheque was formally handed over by SBI Chairman C. S. Setty to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the presence of Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth.
Sharing the moment on X (formerly Twitter), the Finance Minister’s office posted a photograph and stated, “Smt @nsitharaman receives a dividend cheque of Rs 8,076.84 crore for FY 2024-25 from Shri CS Setty, Chairman - @TheOfficialSBI”. The government currently holds a 57.43% stake in SBI.
This payout follows the SBI board’s recent approval of a Rs 15.90 per share dividend for FY25. Notably, SBI’s dividend per share has surged nearly fourfold over four years from Rs 4 in FY21 to Rs 13.70 in FY24, and now Rs 15.90. Since July 2003, SBI has declared 22 dividends, according to data from Trendlyne.
The announcement came as SBI shares were trading at Rs 820.85, up 0.96% from the previous close. The stock opened at Rs 817.40 and hit an intraday high of Rs 824.50, yielding a dividend return of approximately 1.94% at current market prices.
The government’s dividend inflows have seen a significant boost recently. In May, the Reserve Bank of India transferred a record Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend to the Centre. Combined inflows from public sector undertakings and the RBI are expected to strengthen fiscal space, enabling higher capital expenditure without straining fiscal deficit goals.
Despite a 10% year-on-year decline in net profit to Rs 18,642.59 crore for Q4 FY25, SBI showed overall financial resilience. Net interest income rose 2.7% to Rs 42,774.55 crore, while operating profit increased by 8.83% to Rs 31,286 crore. However, domestic net interest margin fell 32 basis points to 3.15%.
Loan loss provisions rose 20.35% to Rs 3,964 crore, pushing total provisions up to Rs 6,442 crore. On the positive side, SBI’s asset quality improved, with the gross NPA ratio dropping to 1.82% and net NPA ratio easing to 0.47%. The provision coverage ratio improved to 74.42%, and bad loan coverage rose to 92.08%.
SBI’s slippage ratio for FY25 improved to 0.55%, while its credit cost stood at a modest 0.38%. The capital adequacy ratio was reported at 14.25%. To support future growth, SBI has announced plans to raise up to Rs 25,000 crore in equity capital in FY26 via various methods including QIP, FPO, rights issue, or preferential allotment.
