HDFC Bank third-quarter profit up 15 percent, beats estimates

HDFC Bank Ltd, India's third-biggest lender by assets, on Tuesday reported a 15 percent rise in third-quarter net profit, above analyst estimates, due to higher interest and fee income.

Net profit was 38.70 billion rupees ($567.91 million) for the three months to Dec. 31, compared with 33.57 billion rupees reported a year ago, said HDFC Bank, the most valuable bank in the sector.

Analysts on average had expected a net profit of 37.88 billion rupees, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans were 1.05 percent in the December quarter, versus 1.02 percent in the September quarter.