State Bank of India Q4 net profit more than doubles

State Bank of India, the nation's top lender by assets, reported fourth-quarter net profit more than doubled in line with expectations, while its bad loan ratio narrowed from the previous quarter.

Standalone net profit, not including contributions from subsidiaries, jumped to Rs 28.15 billion ($433.44 million) for the three months to March 31 from Rs 12.64 billion a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected a net profit of Rs 28.33 billion for the lender, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters. SBI accounts for more than a fifth of India's total banking assets.Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans fell to 6.9 per cent in March from 7.23 per cent  in December.