Q3 Results: ICICI Bank’s Profit Falls On Higher Provisions

ICICI Bank Ltd.'s net profit fell in the December-ended quarter as the bank made larger provisions.

Net profit fell 2.75 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,650 crore, according to the private lender's exchange filing. That's lower than the Rs 1,965-crore estimated by analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

Net interest income rose 20.5 percent to Rs 6,875.2 crore, higher than the Rs 6,768-crore estimate. Net interest margin increased to 3.4 percent from 3.3 percent.

ICICI Bank's asset quality also improved during the quarter. Gross non-performing assets as a ratio of the total advances contracted to 7.75 percent from 8.54 percent sequentially. Net NPA ratio fell to 2.58 percent - the lowest in the last 12 quarters - from 3.65 percent sequentially.

• Gross NPA additions decreased to Rs 2,091 crore from Rs 3,117 crore in the previous quarter.
• Gross NPAs amounting to Rs 4,063 crore recovered/upgraded/resolved through sale during the quarter.

Provisions stood at Rs 4,244 crore, 19 percent higher year-on-year and 6 percent above the previous quarter. Its provision coverage ratio stood at 76.9 percent as of December.

The results come days after the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a first information report against former ICICI Bank Chief Executive Officer Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon Group's Venugopal Dhoot. The agency said that it may also probe the role of current and former senior executives who were part of the bank's credit committee that approved Rs 1,575 crore in loans to companies related to the Videocon Group. These include ICICI Bank's former Chairman KV Kamath and current CEO Sandeep Bakshi.

Chanda Kochhar stepped down as the CEO on Oct. 4 with Sandeep Bakshi, then the chief operating officer, replacing her.

Other Highlights

• Domestic loan growth at 14 percent year-on-year driven by retail.
• Retail loans grew 22 percent comprising 59 percent of the loan portfolio.
• Current and savings account deposits rose 15 percent.
• CASA ratio stood at 49.3 percent.
• Term deposits growth at 20 percent.

The stock has risen 1.9 percent over the last 12 months, compared to a 1.8 percent fall in the NSE Nifty Bank Index. Its shares closed 6.6 percent higher ahead of the earnings announcement in a flat Mumbai market.