HDFC net profit falls 65% in third quarter

MUMBAI: Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd on Tuesday reported a 65% drop in standalone net profit for the December quarter stood at Rs 2,926 crore as against Rs 8,372 crore a year ago.

For the nine-month period ended December 31, 2020, profit after tax was Rs 8,847 crore compared to Rs 15,537.12 crore in the year-ago period.

The lender said the profit numbers for the quarter as well as nine months ended December 31, 2020, are not comparable with that of the previous year. The merger of GRUH Finance with Bandhan Bank was effective October 17, 2019, it added.

"As per IndAS, the Corporation had on derecognition of the investment in GRUH, recorded a fair value gain of Rs 9,020 crore through the statement of profit and loss during the quarter ended December 31, 2019," HDFC Ltd said in a release.

The company's vice chairman and CEO Keki Mistry said the profit numbers for Q3 FY21 are not comparable with the last year because of the profit on the sale of a part stake in HDFC Life and dividend, which stood at Rs 159 crore in the reporting quarter compared to Rs 4 crore last year.

In Q3 FY21, the net gain on fair value changes and income on loans assigned stood at Rs 641 crore as against Rs 209 crore a year ago.

The lender's provisioning (including for the impact of COVID-19) stood at Rs 594 crore in the reporting quarter as against Rs 2,995 crore in the previous year.

Net interest income (NII) rose 26% to Rs 4,068 crore compared to Rs 3,240 crore.

The spread on loans over the cost of borrowings for the nine months ended December 31, 2020, was 2.28%. The spread on the individual loan book was 1.94% and on the non-individual book was 3.14%.