SBI net profit falls 13.6%; shares drop

State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, posted a second consecutive drop in quarterly net profit, missing estimates, on worsening asset quality, higher operating expenses and muted growth in interest income.

The state-run bank posted on Monday a 13.6 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 32.41 billion in the fiscal first quarter that ended in June compared with Rs 37.52 billion a year ago.

Net interest income rose 3.5 per cent to Rs 115.12 billion.

Analysts had expected a net profit of Rs 36.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The bank's shares fell more than 5 per cent after the earnings were announced.