Mumbai: HDFC Bank Ltd posted a 18.2 per cent rise in first-quarter profit on Saturday on higher interest and fee income, though it missed analysts' estimates. Net profit rose to Rs 4,601 crore ($669.43 million) for the quarter ended June 30, from Rs 3,894 crore a year ago, India's second-biggest lender by assets said in a statement.
Analysts had on average expected a net profit of Rs 4,766 crore for the bank that has the highest market capitalisation in the sector at nearly $85 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans stood at 1.33 per cent at end-June, versus 1.3 per cent at end-March.
With its strong retail presence and relatively smaller exposure to sectors such as infrastructure that have led to record levels of bad loans in India's banking sector, HDFC Bank is a favourite among investors.
Its loans at end-June grew 22 per cent from a year earlier.
Private sector banks have expanded loans at a faster pace and have snatched market share from dominant state-backed lenders that account for the bulk of bad loans in India.
Provisions, or the amount set aside by the bank to cover a future liability, for the quarter rose to Rs 1,629 crore from Rs 1,559 crore, last year, with the lender not opting for a central bank dispensation of spreading bond losses over four quarters.
This led to a mark-to-market loss of Rs 391 crore in the quarter, the bank said in a statement.
Net interest income rose 15.4 per cent from a year earlier, while net interest margin came in at 4.2 per cent.
HDFC Bank's smaller rival Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd missed profit estimates earlier this week as provisions surged.
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