Indias HDFC Bank reports 12.2% profit growth in Q1 due to higher interest income | Company Business News

July 19 (Reuters) – HDFC Bank, India’s largest private bank by market capitalisation, reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Saturday due to a surge in interest income from loans and treasury gains, even as provisions for bad loans spiked.

The bank’s standalone net profit rose 12.2% to 181.55 billion rupees ($2.11 billion) in the April-to-June quarter, above the average analyst forecast of 172.84 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The bank’s net interest income – the difference between interest earned on loans and paid on deposits – rose 5.4% to 314.38 billion rupees.

Other income, typically backed by treasury gains and fees on services, more than doubled to 217.29 billion rupees in the quarter.

HDFC Bank’s provisions for bad loans, however, jumped five-fold to 144 billion rupees.

The bank, in its exchange filing, said most of these provisions were not linked to any actual bad loans but instead acted as a “countercyclical buffer for making the balance sheet more resilient.”

Indian lenders have been grappling with an increase in bad loans in segments such as microfinance and unsecured portfolio, which have forced them to set aside more funds for potential defaults and to strengthen their balance sheets.

On Thursday, HDFC Bank peer Axis Bank saw its new bad loans double due to a market benchmarking exercise.

While overall bank credit growth has slowed in India, HDFC Bank posted growth of 6.7% for its overall loan book, driven by a 17.1% rise in loans to small and medium businesses.

The private lender also approved its first ever bonus share issue on Saturday, meaning each of its shareholders will be eligible to receive an extra bonus share for every share held. The date of issuance is still to be determined, the bank said.

In a bonus issue, a company distributes additional stock to shareholders as a proportion of their holdings at no cost. It is typically a sign of confidence in financial performance and growth trajectory.

The board has also approved a special dividend of 5 rupees per share. ($1 = 86.1450 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan; Editing by Joe Bavier)