India’s ICICI Bank beats Q4 profit estimates on strong loan growth

ICICI Bank, India's second-largest private lender, reported a better-than-expected 17.4 per cent increase in fourth-quarter net profit on Saturday, helped by robust loan growth even as its lending margin shrunk.

The lender's standalone net profit, excluding subsidiaries, rose to a record 107.08 billion rupees ($1.28 billion) in the January-March quarter from 91.22 billion in the same period a year earlier, reports Reuters.

That exceeded analysts' average estimate of 103.05 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.

Net interest income, or the difference between interest earned on loans and paid on deposits, increased by 8.1 per cent to 190.93 billion rupees.

But net interest margin (NIM) -- a key gauge of profitability -- was 4.40 per cent, lower than 4.90 per cent a year earlier, and 4.43 per cent reported in the previous quarter.

Executive director Sandeep Batra said that the bank was focused on "risk-calibrated operating profit".