State Bank of India has posted a 20.99 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 988.74 crore (Rs 9.89 billion) for the second quarter ended September 30, 2003, compared to Rs 817.2 crore (Rs 8.17 billion) in the same period previous fiscal.

Total income in the period under review has increased to Rs 10,269.01 crore (Rs 102.69 billion) from Rs 8,962.91 crore (Rs 89.63 billion) in Q2 of last year, the country's largest bank said in a release in Mumbai on Thursday.

For the first half ended September, net profit and total income grew to Rs 1,889.1 crore (Rs 18.89 billion) [Rs 1,580.4 crore (Rs 15.80 billion) in H1 of last year] and Rs 19,792.2 crore (Rs 197.92 billion) [Rs 17,533.2 crore (Rs 175.33 billion)] respectively, it said.

The growth in net profit was achieved due to increased operating profit, despite larger provisions made during the half year on considerations of prudence, the bank added.

SBI said the operating profit in Q2 rose to Rs 2,860.91 crore (Rs 28.61 billion) from Rs 1,678.83 crore (Rs 16.79 billion).

Non-interest income of the bank went up by 5.92 per cent from Rs 4,814.71 crore (Rs 48.15 billion) in H1 of FY03 to Rs 5,099.71 crore (Rs 50.99 billion) in the first six months of the current fiscal.

SBI said total deposits (excluding Resurgent India Bonds, India Millenium Deposits and Interbank) stood at Rs 2,56,221 crore (Rs 2,562.21 billion) as on last Friday of September from Rs 2,42,988 crore (Rs 2,429.88 billion) in March 2003. The cost of deposits also reduced to 5.76 per cent over 6.62 per cent in H1 of last fiscal.

The bank's non-food advances rose from Rs 1,32,396 crore (Rs 1,323.96 billion) in March to Rs 1,36,279 crore (Rs 1,362.79 billion) in September. Retail lending rose by Rs 2,992 crore (Rs 29.92 billion) in H1 of FY04 with home loans rising by Rs 1,703 crore (Rs 17.03 billion) during the six-month period.