India’s top mortgage lender HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation) on Monday posted a 20% year-on-year rise in net profit at Rs 971 crore for the quarter ended September against Rs 808 crore last year, driven by a healthy growth in loan demand despite repeated rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of India.
“Loan disbursements growth stood at 19% in the second quarter of the current fiscal,” said Keki Mistry, vice-chairman and chief executive officer, HDFC. “We expect loan growth of 18-20% for the whole year.”
The company was able to protect the margins, as net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, grew at 4.3% during the April-September quarter.
The company’s total income grew by 40% to Rs 4,169 crore during the quarter against Rs 2,970 crore in the year-ago period.
There was, however, no adverse impact of the rate hikes on its asset quality, Mistry said. The company’s gross non-performing loans amounted to Rs 1,063 crore as on September 30, which is equivalent to 0.8% of its loan portfolio.