Mumbai, April 13: HDFC Bank Ltd?s report card in the fourth quarter of 2004-05 was in line with its expectations. Aided by a strong performance of its retail lending business, the bank clocked a 31 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 202.37 crore against Rs 154.72 crore in the year-ago period.
Total income during the period under review rose to Rs 1,087.27 crore from Rs 806.31 crore in the same period of 2003-04.
For the fiscal ended March 31, the bank?s earnings increased 30 per cent to Rs 665.56 crore compared with Rs 509.50 crore in the previous year.
HDFC Bank has declared a total dividend of Rs 4.50 per share, or 45 per cent, for 2004-05.
As the news of the results started trickling in, the bank counter witnessed hectic activity on the BSE today. After opening at Rs 569, it touched an intra-day high of Rs 573.25. The stock closed at Rs 558.55.
The overall operating and financial performance of the bank during the year was healthy. Total net revenue (comprising net interest income and other income) at Rs 2,429.30 crore was up by around 34 per cent over Rs 1,817.90 crore in 2003-04.
The bank said the revenue growth was due to a 33 per cent rise in net interest income and around 36 per cent growth in other income (non-funded revenues).
During the year, the bank incurred a Rs 65.8-crore loss on sale of investments against profits of Rs 26.9 crore in 2003-04. This was due to rise in yields on government securities. Loan-loss provisions for the year were lower at Rs 176.2 crore (Rs 178.3 crore).
The bank?s total balance sheet size was up 21.6 per cent to Rs 51,429 crore during the year. While total deposits increased by 19.6 per cent to Rs 36,354 crore, advances grew 44.1 per cent to Rs 25,566 crore.
Retail advances increased by 47.5 per cent to Rs 11,696 crore, which includes car loans, personal loans, commercial vehicle loans, two-wheeler loans and credit cards. Wholesale advances too clocked a 41.3 per cent growth at Rs 13,870 crore.
HDFC Bank added that the retail banking business continued to be its fastest growing segment during the year.
The distribution network was expanded with the number of branches, including extension counters, going up from 312 in 163 cities to 467 in 211 cities.
