HDFC
Bank delivers steady Q3; net up 32 per cent
Rex
Mathew
12 January 2007
Rising
deposit costs have not prevented HDFC Bank, the second
largest private sector bank, from delivering a steady
32-per cent rise in net profits for the third quarter.
Sustained credit growth has helped the bank to maintain
the high growth rate in top line. The bank has been
reporting steady bottom line growth of around 30 per
cent for the last many quarters.
For
the quarter ended 31 December 2006, HDFC Bank has reported
a net profit of Rs295.64 crore, or Rs9.4 per share,
an increase of 31.75 per cent over Rs224.4 crore, or
Rs7.2 per share, for the same quarter of last year.
Total income increased 44.49 per cent to Rs2,132.61
crore from Rs1,475.94 crore for the previous year quarter.
Net
interest income, the difference between interest earned
and interest paid, went up by 38.48 per cent to Rs928.63
crore from Rs670.61 crore a year ago. Other income,
including fee and treasury income, went up 26.06 per
cent to Rs373.3 crore from Rs296.13 crore.
Operating
profits increased 34.64 per cent from the previous year
quarter to Rs696.91 crore. Operating margins as a percentage
of total income declined to 32.68 per cent from 35.07
per cent a year ago.
The
decline in operating margins was mostly on account of
a sharp 71.07 per cent jump in staff costs. The bank
managed to limit the damage by holding the increase
in other operating expenses to 20.69 per cent. Provisions
and contingencies were higher by 35.12 per cent at Rs266.39
crore as compared to 197.15 crore for the previous year
quarter.
Capital
adequacy ratio stood at 12.8 per cent as at the end
of the quarter as compared to 12.1 per cent as at the
end of September 2006 quarter. During the quarter, the
bank raised Rs478.5 crore in upper tier-II capital by
issuing subordinated bonds. The bank's branch network
expanded to 583 and the number of ATM's went up to 1,471.
