HDFC Bank posted a marginal increase in its standalone net profit after tax on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis in its fourth quarter (Q4) earnings on Saturday. It logged a net profit of Rs 16,511.85 crore for the March quarter in the 2023-24 fiscal year (FY24) against a net profit of Rs 16,372.54 crore in the December quarter of the same fiscal year (FY24).
The lender’s financial results cannot be compared on a year-on-year (YoY) basis due to its merger with the parent company, HDFC Ltd, during the year. The bank witnessed a slight improvement in its asset quality as its gross non-performing asset (NPA) stood at 1.24 per cent in the January to March quarter, against a gross NPA of 1.26 per cent in the preceding third quarter of FY24.
At the same time, the lender saw a slight increase in its net NPA at 0.33 per cent in the quarter under review, against 0.31 per cent in the October-December quarter of the year. NPAs are loans or advances issued by the bank that are subject to late repayment or unlikely to be repaid by the borrower in full.
Elaborating on the performance, the lender said, “The credit environment in the economy remains benign, and the Bank’s credit performance across all segments continues to remain healthy. The Bank’s GNPA at 1.24 per cent has shown an improvement over the prior quarter. The Bank has considered this as an opportune stage to enhance its floating provisions, which are not specific to any portfolio, but act as a countercyclical buffer for making the balance sheet more resilient, and these also qualify as Tier 2 Capital within the regulatory limits. Therefore, the Bank has made floating provisions of Rs 109 billion during the quarter.”
The bank’s board also announced a dividend of Rs 19.5 per equity share of Rs 1 for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The dividend remains subject to shareholders’ approval.
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