SBI declares 110 per cent dividend

Kolkata: The board of directors of State Bank of India has recommended 110 per cent dividend (Rs 11 per share) for the year, inclusive of 10 per cent special dividend for the SBI Group as a whole for having crossed the net profit of dollar1-billion mark.

In 2002-03, when the bank posted more than 20 per cent growth in net profit, 85 per cent dividend was declared.

The operating profit of the bank during the year was Rs 9,553.46 crore (Rs 7,775.40 crore), recording a growth of 22.87 per cent. The growth in operating profit (excluding treasury profits) was six per cent while the growth in treasury profits was about 36 per cent.

During the fourth quarter of 2003-04, the bank's operating profit at Rs 2,365 crore (Rs 2,508 crore) showed a drop of 5.69 per cent while the net profit at Rs 872.46 crore (Rs 737.55 crore) grew by more than 18 per cent.

Mr A.K. Purwar, Chairman of SBI, while analysing the bank's performance, attributed the drop in operating profit to huge depreciation due to the large-scale computerisation of operations.