HDFC Q4 profit up 26% at Rs 926 cr

Housing lender HDFC Ltd today said its net profit jumped 26.31 per cent to Rs 926.38 crore for the January-March quarter on the back of fall in expenditure.

The company, which saw income from interest fall during the period under review, had posted a net profit of Rs 733.37 crore a year ago, HDFC said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Total income declined to Rs 2,899.32 crore for the quarter ended March 31, from Rs 3,153.61 crore of the corresponding period a year earlier.

The board has approved the subdivision of the company's shares in the ratio of 1:5, that is one share of Rs 10 will be slit into 5 shares of Rs 2 each -- which will make it the first stock split of HDFC shares in over one decade.

The board also proposed a dividend of 360 per cent or Rs 36 per share on the face value of Rs 10 each for the financial year 2009-10.

The lender reported an interest income of Rs 1,559.54 crore (including other charges), lower than the Rs 2,064.14 crore in the same period a year ago.

For the year ended March 31, 2010, the country's largest mortgage lender reported a jump of 40.27 per cent in its consolidated net profit at Rs 3,240.98 crore.

Shares of HDFC were trading at Rs 2,827 on BSE, up 0.18 per cent from previous close.