HDFC Bank Q4 standalone profit jumps 18%, net interest income grows by 12.6%

New Delhi: HDFC Bank said on Saturday it recorded 18 per cent year-on-year growth in its standalone profit at Rs 8,186 crore for the January to March quarter on account of low base in the corresponding period.

Sequentially, the standalone net profit declined 6.5 per cent compared with Rs 8,758 crore in the December quarter (Q3 FY21). Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, grew by 12.6 per cent to Rs 17,120 crore in Q4 FY21 as compared to Rs 15,204 crore in the year-ago period.

Higher other income and pre-provision operating profit aided profitability during the quarter but provisions and tax expenses restricted net income growth.

The pre-provision operating profit expanded to Rs 15,533 crore during January to March quarter, increasing by nearly 20 per cent.

The reported provisions and contingencies for the March quarter at Rs 4,694 crore increased by 24 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year and 37.5 per cent over previous quarter.

The board of directors decided against declaring any dividend for FY21 in light of the second coronavirus wave.

“Given that the current ‘second wave’ has significantly increased the number of coronavirus cases in India and uncertainty remains, the board of directors has considered it prudent to currently not propose dividend for the financial year ended March 31, 2021,” said HDFC Bank.

The lender’s gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose sequentially at 1.32 per cent in Q4 FY21. In Q3 FY21, gross NPA of the bank was 0.81 per cent.

Meanwhile, net NPAs of the lender stood at 0.4 per cent in the March quarter. Capital adequacy ratio at the end of March quarter stood at 18.8 per cent, well above the regulatory requirement of 11.075 per cent.