SBI Q1 net up 25%; beats estimates

State Bank of India (SBI), the country's biggest lender, posted a 25% rise in quarterly profit, beating forecasts.                           
 

SBI and rivals such as ICICI, India's No 2 lender, are seeing an improvement in asset quality as consumer loan defaults slow in an economy forecast to grow about 8.5% this fiscal year.       

SBI posted a net profit of Rs29.14 billion ($621.3 million) in the quarter ended June, versus a profit of Rs23.30 billion a year earlier.                                        

A Reuters poll of analysts had forecast SBI's net profit to grow 5% to Rs24.49 billion.                                            
 

Shares in SBI, valued at $36 billion, were up 1.9% at 0720 GMT, while the main index was down 0.4%.                                           

The shares have risen 15 percent so far this year, versus a 4% rise in the main index, and a 19% jump in the sector index.