IDFC FIRST Bank shares hit 52-week high post 10% spike, pare gains to trade at ₹85.26
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IDFC FIRST Bank shares surged nearly 10% on Monday, hitting a 52-week high, after the private sector lender reported a strong performance for the April-June quarter, helped by higher core income, lower provisions and improving asset quality.
The stock rose by as much as 9.48% during opening trade on the BSE. It opened at ₹85.70 against the previous close of ₹80.83 and touched an intraday high of ₹88.70.
However, the gains narrowed to around 5% during the trading session. At the time of writing (1:00 pm) on Monday, shares of the private lender were trading at ₹85.26, up 5.49% from the previous close.
Net profit more than doubled
The bank reported a net profit of ₹1,075 crore for the first quarter of FY27, more than doubling from ₹463 crore in the corresponding period last year. The sharp rise in earnings was driven by healthy loan growth and lower provisioning.
Net interest income (NII), a key measure of a bank's core earnings, increased 21% year-on-year to ₹5,972 crore from ₹4,933 crore a year earlier. Net interest margin (NIM) also improved to 5.96% from 5.71% in the year-ago quarter, reflecting better profitability from its lending business.
Operating profit rose 14% year-on-year to ₹2,553 crore during the quarter, compared with ₹2,239 crore in the corresponding period last year.
The bank reported lower provisions
The lender also reported lower provisions compared with Q1FY26. Provisions stood at ₹1,144 crore, down from ₹1,659 crore a year ago, although they were higher than ₹869 crore reported in the January-March quarter.
Asset quality improved on a sequential basis. Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) declined to 1.51% at the end of June from 1.61% at the end of March, while net non-performing assets (NNPA) eased to 0.44% from 0.48%.
Motilal Oswal raises target price
Following the earnings, brokerage Motilal Oswal maintained its 'Neutral' rating on the stock and raised its target price. The brokerage said it has increased its earnings estimates for FY27 and FY28, citing an improving asset quality outlook. It expects the bank to deliver a return on assets of around 1% and a return on equity of about 8.9% in FY27.
Analysts said sustained improvement in earnings and asset quality will remain key factors for further re-rating of the stock in the coming quarters.