HDFC Bank ADRs Rise 2.5% as Mumbai Shares Rebound From 52-Week Low After CEO Exit

MUMBAI — HDFC Bank Ltd. American depositary receipts rose 2.47% to $22.38, up 54 cents, as the Mumbai listing bounced from a fresh 52-week low a week after Chief Executive Sashidhar Jagdishan said he will not seek another term.

The NSE stock closed at 708.25 rupees, up 14.45 rupees or 2.08%, after printing a 52-week floor on the same session. Volume was heavy. The ADR quote at 10:05 a.m. Eastern tracked that rebound, not a new earnings print. Next scheduled results are Oct. 19 for the quarter through September.

Jagdishan, 61, told the board on Aug. 29 he will retire when his term ends Oct. 26. Bloomberg later reported that new part-time Chairman Rajiv Kumar had pressed for faster loan growth and executive changes, and that Jagdishan chose to step aside rather than remake the bench. Any successor needs Reserve Bank of India approval. The bank is India's most valuable lender, with a market value that has slid with the stock — down about 28% this calendar year versus a small decline in the Nifty Bank index, Bloomberg calculated, wiping more than $60 billion from last year's peak.

The operating numbers underneath the leadership news are slower growth and thinner margins, not a credit blow-up. For the year ended March 31, net profit rose 10.9% to 746.71 billion rupees. Advances grew 12.1%. Deposits grew 14.4%. Net interest margin was 3.34%. Gross nonperforming assets were 1.15%, down from 1.33%. Return on average net worth was 14.3%. Basic earnings were 48.62 rupees a share.

On the April full-year call Jagdishan said system credit had come in around the 10.5% to 11.5% band the bank had expected and that HDFC did 12%, "up from 5 and 1/2% last year." "Deposit growth rate at 14.4% continues to grow........

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