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ICICI net income increased to 30 percent
By agencies
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Wednesday, 25 October 2006, 19:30 IST
Mumbai: ICICI Bank Ltd., India's biggest bank by market value, reported profit of 30 percent, beating analysts' estimates, as accelerating economic growth spurred consumers to take out home and auto loans.
Net income increased to 7.55 billion rupees ($166 million) in the quarter ended September 30 from 5.8 billion rupees a year earlier, the Mumbai-based bank said today. Retail lending has risen to 69 percent of ICICI's loan portfolio from 13 percent in four and a half years. ICICI's loans expanded 47 percent to 1.64 trillion rupees in the quarter from a year earlier while deposits rose 57 percent to 1.89 trillion rupees, as the economy grew at the fastest clip after China.
ICICI Chief Executive Officer K.V. Kamath last month predicted Indian companies will more than double their funding needs to $175 billion in three years. Funds controlled by the Singapore government are seeking to increase their stake in ICICI, India's best-performing benchmark stock in the quarter.
The bank said it maintained its net interest margin, or the difference between what it earned from loans and paid on deposits, at 2.5 percent by raising lending rates to overcome the rise in borrowing costs.