HDFC Bank Q4 net up 33 per cent, beats forecast

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HDFC Bank Ltd, India's third-largest lender, posted a 33 per cent rise in the fourth quarter profit, beating street estimates, as demand for credit and fee income rose in the fast growing Asian economy.

The bank said its net profit in the January-March quarter rose to 11.15 billion rupees ($251 million) from 8.37 billion rupees a year ago.

A Reuters poll had projected net profit for the New York listed bank at 10.99 billion rupees.

HDFC Bank and its bigger Indian rivals, State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, have been seeing a rise in loan demand in the past few quarters aided by an economy that is expected to have grown 8.6 per cent in the fiscal year ended in March.

But credit growth at India's leading banks is likely to slow down in coming months after a series of interest rate hikes in Asia's third-largest economy to tame inflation, and the banks' margins may come under pressure due to a rise in deposit rates.

Shares in HDFC Bank, which the market values at nearly $25 billion, ended 2.2 per cent lower at 2,311.80 rupees ahead of the earnings announcement, while the 50-share NSE index closed down 1.6 per cent.