MUMBAI:
ICICI Bank
, the second-largest private lender, has reported a
net profit
of Rs 10,708 crore for the quarter ended March 2024, marking an increase of 17.4%, surpassing analyst forecasts. The bank’s board has recommended a
dividend
of Rs 10 per share. At the end of the quarter, the bank’s deposits stood at Rs 14,12,825 crore, up by 19.6% from March 2023.
Meanwhile, advances stood at Rs 11,50,955 crore, an increase of 16.8% from the previous year. The bank’s net interest income rose by 8.1% to Rs 19,093 crore. However, net interest margin (NIM) stood at 4.4%, down from 4.9% a year ago and 4.43% in the preceding quarter.
For the full year, profit after tax grew by 28.2% to Rs 40,888 crore. The bank’s
asset quality
improved, with its gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio at 2.16% as of end-March, compared to 2.3% at the end of Dec. As a result, provisions dipped sharply to Rs 718 crore from Rs 1,619 crore a year earlier. Bank’s executive director Sandeep Batra said the bank’s IT spend had increased from 5.6% of total expenses last year to 9.4%. He also said that the bank remains focused on improving its capabilities. On the outlook, Batra said, “We do expect net interest margin to be range-bound adjusted for seasonality unless there is any change in the repo rate as there are imponderables during the year that we are not aware of. Repricing of term deposits will continue into the first quarter. Going ahead, we expect RBI to undertake a shallow rate cut.”
“Our deposits have been growing at a healthy rate. We will not be raising deposits at any cost. As a bank, our objective is to meet the overall need of the customer,” he added.
Batra also said that the bank continues to enhance the use of technology in its operations and to provide solutions to customers. The retail lending platform, iLens, is being upgraded on an ongoing basis, with personal loans and education loans now integrated into the platform along with mortgages.
