Q4 Results: HDFC Bank reports 22.8 per cent NII growth

India’s leading private bank reported strong numbers. HDFC Bank registered a 22.8 per cent growth in net interest income (NII) for the March quarter FY19 at Rs. 13,089.5 crore as against Rs. 10,657.7 crore in the Q4FY18.

Strong NII helped the bank report an equal strong net profit growth of 22.6 per cent for the March quarter. The net profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs. 5,885.1 crore, reported the bank’s earnings release on Saturday.

The asset quality for the quarter remained almost unchanged as GNPAs as a percentage of advances stood at 1.36 per cent for the March quarter against 1.38 per cent in December quarter and 1.30 per cent in Q4FY18.

The bank witnessed a slippages of Rs. 3,987 crore during the March quarter and saw upgrades of Rs. 1,000 crore, write-offs of Rs. 700 crore and recoveries of approximately Rs. 1,200 crore for the quarter.

The provisions and contingencies dipped by 14.5 per cent QoQ and increased 22 per cent YoY to Rs. 1,889.2 crore in March quarter as against Rs. 2,211.53 crore in December quarter and Rs. 1,541.1 in the year ago quarter Q4FY18, respectively.

The bank’s provision coverage ratio was 71 per cent, as of March 31, 2019 and total capital adequacy ratio was at 17.1 per cent compared to 14.8 per cent in Q4FY18.

On full year basis, for the year ended March 31, 2019, HDFC Bank earned a total income of Rs. 1,16,597.9 crore. Net revenue for the year was at Rs. 65,869.1 crore, an increase of 19.1 per cent as against Rs. 55,315.2 crore for the year ended March 31, 2018. The bank's net profit for the year ended March 31, 2019 was at Rs. 21,078.1 crore, an increase of 20.5 per cent YoY.

The bank’s core net interest margin for FY19 was 4.3 per cent and the core cost to income ratio for FY19 was at 39.9 per cent as compared to 41.7 per cent in FY18.

Also, the bank’s Board of Directors recommended a 750 per cent dividend of Rs. 15 per equity share.

On Thursday, the last trading day of the week due to holiday on Good Friday, the stock of HDFC Bank closed at Rs. 2,290.15, down by Rs. 14.60 or 0.63 per cent on BSE.