Housing Development Finance Corp., the Indian lender part owned by Citigroup Inc., said second- quarter profit rose 76 percent on demand from homebuyers in the world’s fastest-growing major economy after China.
Net profit rose to 6.46 billion rupees ($164 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from 3.68 billion rupees a year earlier, the home mortgage lender said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Borrowers have withstood nine increases in interest rates since October 2004 as salaries rise in the $906 billion economy and the government offers tax rebates to homebuyers. Wages may grow about 15 percent this year, the fastest in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Hewitt Associates Inc., a U.S.-based human resources company.
The lender reported a one-time gain of 3.13 billion rupees, lifting net income above the 4.56 billion rupee median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Total income rose 30 percent to 18.9 billion rupees from 14.6 billion rupees, the Mumbai-based company said.
HDFC’s shares have gained 73 percent this year, outpacing the 45 percent increase in the benchmark Sensex index, and 50 percent growth in the Bankex index.
The mortgage lender, set up in 1977, is about 80 percent owned by overseas investors, led by Citigroup with an 8.5 percent stake, according to Bloomberg data.
Homebuyers in India, where the economy has grown an average 8.6 percent in the past four years, can deduct as much as 150,000 rupees a year from their taxable income against interest they pay on home loans.
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By Sumit Sharma
Bloomberg
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