HDFC Bank Ltd crossed ₹8 trillion in market capitalization for the first time on Wednesday, becoming India’s third firm and first lender to achieve this milestone. It has joined the elite club on BSE as the share price hit a new high of Rs 1,464 in Wednesday’s early morning deals. HDFC Bank, which is at number three position in the overall market-cap ranking of listed companies, has become the first lender to achieve the milestone.
At 9:32 am, the scrip traded at ₹1453 apiece, up 1% from its previous close, while the benchmark Sensex advanced 0.51% to 44,748.07 points. So far this year, the stock has surged nearly 14%.
Earlier, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Reliance Industries have achieved this landmark. Currently, Reliance Industries leads the pack with Rs 13.34 trillion market cap, followed by Tata Consultancy Services with Rs 10.19 trillion market-cap, data shows.
HDFC Bank’s net profit rose 18% year-on-year to ₹7,513 crore in the quarter ended September, as asset quality remained steady and interest income increased. The non-performing assets ratio stood at 1.08% against 1.38% under Pro-forma basis and 1.36% in the previous quarter.
The lender reported a drop in borrowers availing moratorium to 9% of its loan book, one of the lowest in the industry. It also reported a further improvement in the collection efficiencies. Loan book grew by 16% year on year, with corporate advances growing by 26% year on year.
“Digital initiatives and strong festive tie-ups are seen propelling retail credit growth ahead. This coupled with healthy traction in corporate disbursement is seen as keeping business momentum ahead of the industry. Improvement in the collection at 97 percent and contingent provision at around 75 basis points of advances provides cushion from high volatility in asset quality and earnings,” analysts at ICICI Securities said. The stock, however, trading above the brokerage target price of Rs 1,450 per share.
Among the analyst covering the HDFC Bank stock, 50 have a buy rating, 3 have a hold and 1 has a sell rating, according to Bloomberg data.
Overall business momentum for HDFC Bank remains healthy compared to the industry, but analysts at Emkay Global Financial Services believe that the asset quality trend and management transition will be the key things to watch out for in the near-to-medium term.
