Gross NPAs flat at 3.54%, net NPAs rise by 7 bps; Casa ratio rises to 40.7%
ICICI Bank on Friday reported a smart 30% y-o-y jump in net profits for the three months to September 2012 at R1,956 crore. The bottomline was driven up by an 18% y-o-y increase in advances that resulted in a 35% y-o-y increase in net interest income to R3,371 crore. Although the numbers beat analysts? expectations of R1,874.1 crore compiled by Bloomberg, the ICICI Bank stock fell marginally by 0.73% on the Bombay Stock Exchange to close at R1,078.25.
The country?s largest private sector bank reported net interest margins (NIMs) of 3%, flat relative to the June 2012 quarter. ?We would maintain our NIMs for the rest of the fiscal and there could be some improvement, though that may not be significant,? Chanda Kochhar, MD and chairman, ICICI Bank said on a conference call.
Kochhar expects the domestic loan book to grow by 20% y-o-y this year, with retail loans growing by 15%-18%.
The bank?s asset quality remained good with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) remaining sequentially flat at 3.54%, and net NPAs rose marginally by 7 bps to 0.78%. Slippages during the quarter were to the tune of R1,220 crore including a writeoff of R500 crore. The net restructured assets at end of the September quarter were R4,158 crore, lower than RRs 4,172 crore at the end of the June quarter.
The bank does not expect a major deterioration in the asset quality with Kochhar pointing out , however, that it was important to monitor large-sized projects. ?We expect most of these borrowers to service the interest on their loans,? the CEO and MD said.
The bank provided R507. 92 crore, up 59% y-o-y, in the three months to September, 2012, including provisions for bad loans. ICICI Bank?s provision coverage ratio stood at 78.7% as on September 30, 2012, the bank said in a statement. ICICI Bank?s total income for the September , 2012 quarter, rose 22% y-o-y to R12,069.30 crore with other income up 17% y-o-y to R2,042.97 crore.
The current account savings account (Casa) ratio rose to 40.7% at the end of the September quarter, compared with 39.10% in the previous quarter. The total outstanding deposits stood R2,81,438 crore, up 15% y-o-y with current account deposits at R33,800 crore and savings account deposits at R80,618 crore.
