MUMBAI: The second largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has delivered a street-beating set of numbers for the September quarter with a 5.2 percent on-year jump in net net income at Rs 12,359 crore compared to Rs 11,746 crore in the same period last year driven by higher net interest income and improved asset quality.
The core net interest income (NII) which is the difference between interest earned and interest expended, rose to Rs 21,529.5 crore from Rs 20,048 crore a year earlier. That marks a 7.4 percent increase on-year, which is again better than the street view.
Total income for the quarter rose to Rs 49,333.5 crore from Rs 47,714 crore in the year-ago period, while other income increased to Rs 7,575.5 crore from Rs 7,176.7 crore, the city based bank said in a statement Saturday.
Asset quality improved further during the quarter with gross non-performing assets (GNPA) declining to Rs 23,849.7 crore from Rs 27,121.2 crore a year earlier. The GNPA ratio eased to 1.58 from 1.97, while the net NPA ratio stood at 0.39, marginally lower than 0.42 in the same quarter last year. In absolute terms net NPAs amounted to Rs 5,827 crore, compared to Rs 5,685 crore. Both these set of numbers boosted the bottomline.
Provisions and contingencies for the quarter fell nearly 26 percent to Rs 914 crore from Rs 1,233 crore a year earlier, reflecting the bank’s stronger credit profile and further boosting profitability.
Other income, which includes treasury gains, rose 5 percent, even as treasury income dropped sharply to Rs 220 crore from Rs 680 crore a year earlier, as rising bond yields weighed on banks’ investment portfolios.
Overall advances grew 10.6 percent to Rs 13,75,260 crore, led by the small and medium-sized business segment that expanded the fastest pace, while growth in retail and large corporate segments remained muted. Deposits rose 7.7 percent during the quarter.
The key profitability gauge net interest margin stayed flat at 4.3 percent.
Average deposits rose 9.1 percent on-year and 1.6 percent sequentially to Rs 15,57,449 crore during the quarter, with the average current account deposits increasing 12.6 percent and savings account deposits rising 8.5 percent. The low cost Casa ratio stood at 39.2.
Total period-end deposits rose by 7.7 percent on-year to Rs 16,12,825 crore.
Banks of late have seeing a gradual recovery in credit demand in recent months after a period of slowdown. Analysts expect the momentum to strengthen in the second half of the financial year, supported by recent tax cuts and improving consumption trends.
