The bank has posted a net profit of Rs 42.17 crore compared with Rs 33.51 crore in the year-ago period.

Total income during the first half of the current year stood at Rs 197.38 crore against Rs 142.52 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, indicating a growth of over 38 per cent. HDFC Bank has reported a profit before tax of Rs 60.51 crore against Rs 48.68 crore for the half year ended September 30, 1997.

The bank has provided Rs 18.34 crore (Rs 15.17 crore) towards taxation. The net non-performing assets of the bank remain unchanged from the March, 1998, figure of Rs 13 crore, an HDFC Bank release said on Friday.

The new private sector bank has achieved a healthy growth in deposits during the first half of the current year. Deposits have surged to Rs 2,255 crore, an increase of 52 per cent over Rs 1,477 crore during the first half of the previous fiscal. Theadvances and corporate debt investments of the bank also increased from Rs 786 crore as on September 30, 1997, to Rs 1,210 crore as on September 30, 1998, indicating a growth of 54 per cent.

HDFC Bank's focus on increasing its low-cost retail deposits base is reflected in the 106 per cent growth in savings account deposits on a year-on-year basis and by 36 per cent during the first half of the current year.

HDFC Bank has attributed the improved financial performance to the strong growth momentum in all its four business franchises -- retail banking, corporate banking, treasury and capital markets infrastructure. During the first half of the current financial year, the bank added five branches to its network taking the total number of outlets to 43 in 15 cities. By March, 1999, the branch network is expected to be expanded to 60 outlets in 18 cities.

The bank has made its first foray into retail loan products by offering car bookings on the Hyundai Santro and has already financed over 3,400 bookings.HDFC Bank expects to launch its retail auto loan finance product next month in Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.