ICICI Bank Q4 profit drops 5 pc due to higher provisioning for bad loans

Private lender ICICI Bank on Monday posted a 5 per cent drop in profit at Rs 969 crore in the quarter ended March 31 due to higher expenses.

The net profit was Rs 1,020 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year.

The bank's profit declined due to higher provisioning for bad loans in the January to March quarter. It made a provisioning of Rs 5,451 crore compared to Rs 4,244 crore in the previous quarter.

The bank reported a 4.9 per cent increase in total income to Rs 20,914 crore. Its net interest income grew 26.54 per cent to Rs 7,620 crore, from Rs 6,022 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2018.

ICICI Bank said its net interest margin stood at 3.72 per cent in the fourth quarter of financial year 2018-19.

Asset quality improved with gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans easing to 6.7 per cent in the quarter ended March 31, from 7.75 per cent in the previous quarter and 8.84 per cent a year earlier.

The lender said its net non-performing assets came in at the lowest level in the last 13 quarters. Its net NPA ratio decreased to 2.06 per cent on March 31, 2019, from 2.58 per cent on December 31, 2018,

However, total expenses jumped 18.1 per cent to Rs 14,680 crore, led by 17 per cent rise in interest that the bank paid on its deposits.