HDFC Bank, India's Largest Private Lender, Reports 18.5% Net Income Growth

HDFC Bank, the largest private lender in India, announced a net profit increase of 18.5% for the October-December quarter on Saturday, bolstered by a rise in revenue and a rise in loans.

The quarterly net profit rose from $1.51 billion ($103.42 billion) to $1.51 billion ($122.59 billion). According to data from Refinitiv IBES, analysts anticipated earnings of 118.33 billion rupees.

Interest earned minus interest paid grew by 24.6%, from 184.44 billion rupees to 229.88 billion rupees. The quarterly core net interest margin was 4.1%.

Advances climbed 19.5%, retail loans increased 21.4%, commercial and rural banking loans increased 30.2%, and other wholesale loans increased 20.0% for HDFC's third fiscal quarter.

The expansion of deposits of 19.9% was driven by time deposits, current account deposits, and savings account deposits.

Credit demand in India has surged in recent months due to a persistent demand for loans, causing a scramble for deposits among lenders. In the two weeks ending on December 16, according to the most recent data from the Reserve Bank of India, loans at Indian banks increased 17.4% compared to the same period last year, while deposits increased 9.35%.

During the previous three months, HDFC Bank's asset quality remained steady, with its gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio being unchanged at 1.23 percent and its net NPA ratio remaining unchanged at 0.25 percent.

The provisions and contingencies reduced from 29.94 billion rupees the previous year to 28.06 billion rupees.

The bank's credit cost ratio declined from 0.87 percent in the previous quarter and 0.94 percent a year ago to 0.74 percent in the current quarter.