ICICI posts slowest quarterly growth in four years

ICICI Bank Ltd, India's biggest private sector lender, posted its slowest quarterly growth in four years as asset quality worsened and funds set aside for bad loans and contingencies almost doubled from a year earlier.

Net profit reached Rs 2,530 crore (Rs 25.3 billion) in October-December from Rs 2,250 crore (Rs 22.5 billion) a year earlier, the bank said on Wednesday.

That was higher than the Rs 2,460 crore (Rs 24.6 billion) mean estimate of 23 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net interest income, or the difference between interest earned and paid, rose about 22 per cent to Rs 4,260 crore (Rs 42.6 billion).

Net non-performing loans as a percentage of total assets rose to 0.94 per cent from 0.76 per cent.

Net interest margin improved to 3.32 per cent from 3.07 per cent.

Shares of ICICI, with a market value of $18.6 billion, briefly fell after the results but pared losses to trade up 0.9 per cent at Rs 1,027.8 at 12:44 p.m. The Sensex was up 0.43 per cent.

ICICI's results compare with rivals Yes Bank, HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank, which posted third-quarter profit growth of 21 per cent, 25 per cent, 30 per cent respectively.