Oct. 30, 2009 (The Hindu Business Line) --
Mumbai, Oct. 30
ICICI Bank’s net profit edged up a marginal 2.5 per cent in the quarter ended September 30, 2009 at Rs 1,040 crore, against Rs 1,014 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Its loan book shrank Rs 7,200 crore in the second quarter due to a drop in the agricultural loan portfolio as also repayment of retail loans.
In the first six months of FY2010, India’s largest private sector bank reported a 10 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 1,918 crore (Rs 1,742 crore).
A break-up of the bank’s segment results (profit before tax) for the reporting quarter shows that profit on treasury operations at Rs 600 crore (loss of Rs 131 crore in Q2FY09) played no small part in propping up the profitability.
Retail banking incurred a loss of Rs 322 crore (profit of Rs 277 crore in Q2FY09) while profit from the wholesale banking segment was lower at Rs 949 crore (Rs 1,106 crore).
In the reporting quarter, the bank’s total income, comprising interest earned and other income, declined 13 per cent to Rs 8,481 crore (Rs 9,712 crore) and total expenditure fell 19 per cent to Rs 6,045 crore (Rs 7,427 crore).
Ms Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank (NYSE:IBN) , attributed the bank’s profitability in the reporting quarter to tighter expenditure control, improved net interest margin, sequential decline in total provisions (from Rs 1,324 crore in the first quarter of FY10 to Rs 1,071 crore in Q2FY10) and robust growth in low-cost current account and savings account (CASA) deposits.
“In the second half we see credit demand coming in from corporate banking, infrastructure, trade finance, and retail (home and car loans) segments. We could have double-digit growth in these segments. Net-net, we expect single-digit credit growth,” said Ms Kochhar.
On Friday, ICICI Bank’s share price on the BSE rose Rs 18.35 to close at Rs 789.60 against the previous close of Rs 771.25.
