SBI Card shares tepid after mixed Q4 numbers; here’s what analysts make of earnings

Shares of SBI Cards and Payment Services – a credit card company and payment provider – were hovering around a flatline after hitting the day’s high level of Rs 786.85 per share, up nearly two per cent on the BSE during Tuesday’s trading session.

SBI Card shares were mainly reacting to the Q4 earnings of the company announced on Friday, April 28, 2023. The credit card company reported a marginal increase in its net profit to Rs 596 crore March quarter, which was slightly above Zee Business’ expectations of Rs 560 crore. 

The company’s net interest income surged by 16.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,165.1 crore against Zee Business estimates of Rs 1,160 crore during the quarter under review. The finance company’s margins dipped marginally, and the bad loans ratio grew marginally during the March quarter.

Most brokerages are divided on SBI Card shares after the company reported mixed sort of numbers for the March quarter. Global brokerages such as Jefferies, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and Macquarie are upbeat, while CLSA and Goldman Sachs have ‘reduce’/’sell’ call, respectively, on SBI Card stock.

SBI Card reported a mixed quarter as higher other income drove earnings despite elevated provisions, Motilal Oswal said in its review post Q4 results. The brokerage ‘reiterated’ a ‘buy’ call with a revised target of Rs 930 per share, implying around 20 per cent potential upside on the stock.

Margin contracted sequentially due to a lower revolver mix of 24 per cent and a higher funding cost, the analysts at Motilal Oswal said, expecting the revolver mix to improve gradually; however, the margin could remain under pressure as the borrowing cost is expected to increase further.

SBI Card is the only listed credit card player in India and is in a strong position to grow backed by a wide array of offerings, including co-branded cards, that drive robust spends, BoB Caps said in its report.

“We increase our FY24/FY25 PAT estimates marginally by 1 per cent each based on the Q4 results, with a revised target of Rs 1,050 per share and retain ‘buy’ for a potential upside of 36 per cent. We value the stock at an unchanged FY25E P/E multiple of 29x, 35% below the long-term mean,” BoB Caps said.

At around 1:00 PM, the stock quoted at Rs 775 apiece, up Rs 3.15 or 0.41 per cent on Tuesday from Friday's closing of Rs 771.8 per share on the BSE. The stock markets were shut on Monday on account of Labour Day.

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