Most Profitable PSU: SBI, NTPC, ONGC Raked In Q4 Profits—But THIS Insurance Titan Made Them Look Small

Most Profitable PSU: State Bank of India, Coal India, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Power Finance Corporation (PFC) Coal India, and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), remained among the top ten most profitable public sector undertakings (PSUs) during the March quarter of financial year 2024-25. However, insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India topped the list with by making a profit of Rs 19013 crore.

The Q4FY25 corporate earnings ended on a strong note with PSU banks, OMCs, automobiles, healthcare, technology and capital goods emerging as the outperforming sectors.

Biggest Profit Making PSU

Out of all the companies which announced quarterly earnings, PSUs enjoy a lot of attention of investors due to their stable government backing, regular dividend returns, and attractive valuations. For such investors here's the list of the top 7 PSUs with biggest Q4 profits, prepared by ICICI Direct

India’s Most Profitable PSUs (As per Q4FY25 Earnings)

Rank	PSU Name	Net Profit (₹ crore)
1	LIC (Life Insurance Corporation)	19,013
2	SBI (State Bank of India)	18,643
3	Coal India	9,604
4	Power Finance Corporation (PFC)	8,358
5	NTPC	7,897
6	Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)	7,265
7	ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation)	6,448

LIC

The state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) reported a 38% increase in its net profit to Rs 19013 crore in the fourth quarter of FY25, against a net profit of Rs 13,763 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Its net premium income slid 3% to Rs 147586 crore against Rs 152,293 crore during the same period last financial year. Additionally, there was a significant rise in Non-Participating (Non-Par) Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE), which grew by 50.28% to Rs 10,581 crore. The share of Non-Par APE within the Individual business segment surged by 937 basis points to 27.69%, signaling a strategic shift towards higher-margin products

State Bank of India (SBI)

Indian state lender State Bank of India (SBI) stood at the second position on the list, even after recording a 10% annual decline in its net profit. LIC posted a net profit of Rs 18,642.59 crore for the fourth quarter of FY 25.

Its net interest income (NII) increased by 2.7% annually to Rs 42,774 crore. SBI's gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio improved by 42 basis points YoY to 1.82%, while the net NPA ratio improved by 10 basis points to 0.47%. The provision coverage ratio also saw an improvement of 60 basis points YoY, standing at 74.42%. SBI announced a dividend of Rs 15.90 per share alongside its fourth-quarter results.

Coal India

Maharatna power company, Coal India, saw its consolidated net profit to increase by 12.04% to Rs 9,604.02 crore. Despite a marginal increase in its Q4 profit, company reported a 5.5% decline in its FY25 profit to Rs 35,358 crore against Rs 37402 crore reported in FY24.
The company's revenue from operations during the fourth quarter decreased by 1% year-on-year (YoY), settling at ₹37,824.54 crore compared to ₹38,213.48 crore in Q4FY24. For the full fiscal year FY25, Coal India's revenue from operations also fell by 1% to ₹1,43,368.92 crore from ₹1,44,762.42 crore in FY24.

Power Finance Corporation

Power Finance Corporation's net profit increased by 11% to Rs 8358 crore during the March quarter against a net profit of Rs 7556 crore in the same period a year ago.

PFC's Assets Under Management (AUM) reached ₹5.43 lakh crore, reflecting a 12.8% year-on-year growth and a 7.8% increase from the previous quarter. The Gross Non-Performing Asset (NPA) Ratio improved to 1.94%, down from 2.68% in the last quarter. Similarly, the Net NPA Ratio decreased to 0.39%, compared to 0.71% previously. PFC declared a final dividend of ₹2.05 per equity share for FY25, with June 13, 2025 set as the record date.

NTPC

NTPC's net profit increased by 22% to Rs 7,897.14 crore, driven by higher revenue from its generation business. In comparison, the net profit for the same period in FY24 was Rs 6,490.05 crore.

The company's total income for the March quarter reached Rs 51,085.05 crore, up from Rs 48,816.55 crore in Q4 FY24. Revenue from the generation segment alone was Rs 49,352.99 crore, an increase from Rs 47,088.70 crore in the previous year's fourth quarter.

Indian Oil Corporation

Indian Oil Corporation witnessed a 152% sequential increase in its net Q4 profit to Rs 7264.85 crore against Rs 2873.5 crore reported in Q3FY25. IOC Q4 result also included a Gross Refining Margins (GRMs) at $8 per barrel, revenue at Rs 217,725.44 crore. Indain Oil Corporation's board had recommended a final dividend of Rs 3 per equity share for the fiscal year 2024-25.

ONGC

ONGC manage to remain on the list despite a massive 35% annual decline in its consolidated profit to Rs 6448 crore. Its revenue from operations for the January-March quarter stood at Rs 34982 crore.