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State Bank of India plans to more than double the pace of new branch openings this year after posting profit that surpassed estimates on rising lending income.

The country’s largest lender said fourth-quarter net income rose 24% from a year earlier to 206.9 billion rupees ($2.5 billion), according to a statement Thursday. That tops the average estimate of 132.2 billion rupees in a Bloomberg survey. 

Indian banks continue to enjoy profit growth on the back of solid demand for loans in the world’s most-populous nation. However, margins are getting compressed at most of the country’s top lenders, as they also grapple with tighter liquidity and deposit growth that’s lagging the credit expansion. 

For the year, SBI expects its net interest margin to remain at current levels, according to Chairperson Dinesh Khara. The bank expects credit growth to be driven by small enterprises and agriculture, followed by retail and corporate loans. Demand is also strong for renewables, electric vehicles and battery storage loans.

The bank plans to open 300 new branches this fiscal year, up from 139 last year, Khara told reporters in Mumbai. About 85% of its new, incoming class of 11,000 associate and officer class employees are engineers, emphasizing the bank’s commitment to developing its technology, he said.

Mumbai-based SBI saw interest income grow more than 19% in the quarter. Its net interest margin, a gauge of lending profitability, rose to 3.47% from 3.34% in the previous quarter. 

SBI shares rose 1.1% Thursday after earlier hitting a record high, boosting its gain for the year to 28%. 

(Corrects time reference in second paragraph, and hiring figures in fifth paragraph. An earlier version updated with chairperson’s comments from fourth paragraph.)

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