SBI Card Q1 FY27 Results: PAT Rises 20% as Credit Costs Improve; New Card Additions Cross 1 Million

What Happened ?

key details

Business Performance Highlights:

• Added 10.23 lakh new credit card accounts during Q1 FY27.
• Cards-in-force increased to 2.26 crore.
• Retail spending rose 14% YoY to ₹94,033 crore.
• Total customer spends reached ₹1,18,475 crore, up 27% YoY.
• Receivables grew to ₹58,269 crore, supported by healthy portfolio expansion.
• Interest-earning receivables accounted for approximately 55% of overall receivables. 

Financial Performance:

• Revenue from operations increased 3% YoY to ₹5,041 crore.
• Fee and other revenue grew 10% YoY.
• Operating expenses increased 23% YoY, reflecting continued investment in business expansion.
• Impairment on financial instruments declined 30% YoY to ₹948 crore.
• Profit before tax increased 19% YoY to ₹893 crore.
• Net profit increased 20% YoY to ₹664 crore.

Asset Quality & Portfolio Strength:

• Gross Credit Cost declined to 6.5% from 7.7% in the previous quarter.
• Gross NPA improved to 2.04%, down 102 bps YoY.
• Net NPA declined to 0.83%, improving 59 bps YoY.
• Net Credit Cost reduced to 5.5%.
• Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) improved to 59.9%.
• Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained strong at 25.6%. 

Digital & Customer Trends:

• Online retail spending reached 63% of retail transactions.
• UPI spends on RuPay credit cards grew by over 13% compared with Q4 FY26.
• Major spending categories included:
  • Departmental stores & grocery
  • Fuel
  • Utilities
  • Restaurants
  • Apparel
• Travel, hospitality and entertainment recorded the strongest spending growth among merchant categories.

Note:

• The quarter demonstrates SBI Card’s focus on balancing business growth with disciplined risk management.
• Continued customer acquisition, improving asset quality and expanding digital payment adoption position the company for sustainable long-term growth despite a moderate revenue growth environment. 

Risk Analysis

Summary:

• Although business fundamentals remain healthy, SBI Card continues to operate in a competitive lending environment where asset quality, funding costs and consumer spending trends remain important variables.

Key Risks:

• Rising competition in the credit card industry.
• Potential slowdown in discretionary consumer spending.
• Changes in interest rates affecting borrowing costs.
• Credit quality deterioration if macroeconomic conditions weaken.
• Regulatory changes impacting lending and payment businesses.

Worst Case:

• A sustained slowdown in consumer spending or deterioration in credit quality could increase provisioning requirements and moderate future earnings growth.

Risk Level: Medium

Company Commentary

• Management highlighted that gross credit cost remained below 7% during the quarter.
• More than 1 million new accounts were acquired in Q1 FY27.
• Retail spending remained broad-based across multiple consumer categories.
• Improved asset quality contributed significantly to higher profitability.
• The company continues to focus on disciplined portfolio growth, digital payments and maintaining a strong capital position to support future expansion.