** Shares of IDFC First Bank IDFB.NS down 4.4% at 81.1
rupees
** The Indian lender's net profit slid 9.8% y/y to 7.24 bln
rupees ($86.8 mln) as a ~31% jump in expenses outweighed a ~28%
increase in interest earned
** Net provisions for bad loans up ~50% y/y in reported qtr
** Trading vols 1.6x
** Analysts' avg rating on co "buy" and median TP is 90
rupees - LSEG data
** YTD, stock has fallen ~9% after a 51% jump in 2023 - its
third straight annual gain
($1 = 83.4100 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)
((Hritam.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com;))