HDFC Bank on Saturday reported a 19 per cent growth in net profit for the quarter ended June 30 on higher core income and lower provisions.

Net profits came in at Rs 9,195.99 crore against Rs 7,729.64 crore in the same period of the previous year.

Estimates among analysts had differed with a Bloomberg poll putting the net profit at Rs 8,197 crore, while brokerages such as Motilal Oswal had estimated the bottom line to be around Rs 9,275 crore.

The rise in the lender’s net profit came as provisions declined to Rs 3,187.73 crore from Rs 4,830.84 crore in the yearago period.

Asset quality of HDFC Bank was stable with the percentage of gross non-performing assets (NPAs) standing at 1.28 per cent compared with 1.17 per cent in the preceding three months and 1.47 per cent in the year-ago period.

Gross NPAs in absolute terms stood at Rs 18,033.67 crore against Rs 16,140.96 crore on a sequential basis.

During the period, the bank’s core net interest income (interest earned minus interest paid) grew 14.5 per cent to Rs 19,481.4 crore from Rs 17,009.0 crore a year ago. HDFC Bank said this was driven by advances growth of 22.5 per cent and deposits growth of 19.2 per cent.

HDFC Bank disclosed that it continued to add new liability relationships at a robust pace of 26 lakh during the quarter.

Other income came in at Rs 6,388.23 crore (Rs 6,288.50 crore in the same period of the previous year) of which fees & commissions stood at Rs 5,360.4 crore (Rs 3,885.4 crore) and foreign exchange and derivatives revenue of Rs 1,259.3 crore (Rs 1,198.7 crore).

It was pulled down by loss on sale and revaluation of investments of Rs 1,311.7 crore against a gain of Rs 601 crore in the corresponding previous quarter. The other income also included miscellaneous income, including recoveries and dividend.

The bank said it added 725 branches and 29,038 employees over the last twelve months and 36 branches and 10,932 employees during the quarter. This, and other investments made during the quarter, are expected to position the lender to capitalise on the growth opportunity.