HDFC Bank, India's largest private lender, on Saturday reported a 18.5 per cent jump in net profit for the October-December quarter, aided by higher top-line and healthy loan growth.
Net profit for the quarter was Rs 12,259 crore ($1.51 billion), up from Rs 10,342 crore in the same quarter a year earlier. That was above analysts' forecast of Rs 11,833 crore, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid, rose 24.6 per cent to Rs 22,988 crore from Rs 18,444 crore. The core net interest margin stood at 4.1 per cent for the quarter.
HDFC's advances for its third fiscal quarter rose 19.5 per cent, retail loans grew 21.4 per cent, commercial and rural banking loans were up 30.2 per cent and other wholesale loans rose 20.3 per cent.
Deposits grew 19.9 per cent, aided by higher time deposits and current and savings account deposits.
Credit offtake in India has picked up in recent months due to sustained demand for loans, causing a scramble for deposits among lenders. Loans at Indian banks rose 17.4 per cent in the two weeks to Dec. 16 from a year earlier, while deposits rose 9.36 per cent, the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India showed last month.
HDFC Bank's asset quality was stable from the previous three months, with its gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio unchanged at 1.23 per cent and net NPA ratio unchanged at 0.33 per cent.
Provisions and contingencies fell slightly to Rs 2,806 crore from Rs 2,994 crore last year.
The bank's credit cost ratio declined to 0.74 per cent from 0.87 per cent in the prior quarter and 0.94 per cent a year earlier.
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