ICICI Bank Q2 profit soars 36%; SME loans grow 29%
ICICI Bank's net profit rose 36% to ₹10,261 crore in the second quarter amid continued loan growth and a rise in fee income as asset quality remained stable.
Total advances in the July-September period rose 18% from the year earlier, led by a 21% growth in retail loans, which comprised 54% of the total loan portfolio at India's second biggest private sector lender.
Business banking loans, or mid-corporate credit above the threshold of ₹250 crore, grew 30% year-on-year. Loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) grew 29%.
The overall corporate portfolio grew 15% in the September quarter from the year earlier.
Executive director Sandeep Batra said the bank continues to assess loans based on its internal risk return matrix and does not have a targeted growth rate or a loan book balance in mind.
The net interest margin (NIM) dropped to 4.53% from 4.78% in the preceding quarter. This was balanced by growth in loans and higher fee income.
Non-interest income, excluding treasury, increased 14% from the year-earlier quarter to ₹5,861 crore. Fee income grew 16% from the year earlier to ₹5,204 crore largely due to higher accruals from retail, rural, business banking and SME customers, which constituted about 78% of the total.
Gross NPA Ratio Falls to 2.48%
Higher fees also offset an Rs 85 crore treasury loss as bond yields rose.
Asset quality was stable with the gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio declining to 2.48% from 3.19% a year ago.
The net addition to gross NPAs after recoveries was Rs 116 crore, down from Rs 600 crore a year ago, as the bank could recover or write off almost all of its Rs 4,687 crore of slippages during the quarter.
