ICICI Bank reports 17 percent rise in Q4 net profit to ₹10,708 crore.

ICICI Bank on Saturday reported its net profit at ₹10,707 crore in the fourth quarter ending on March 31. ICICI Bank on Saturday reported its net profit at ₹10,707 crore in the fourth quarter ending on March 31, Reuters reported. It was a 17 percent increase in the net profit from ₹9,122 crore in the same period a year earlier. The result exceeded analysts’ average estimate of 10,305 crore rupees, according to LSEG data. The bank’s net interest income for the fourth quarter stood at ₹19,093 crore rupees. The core net interest income of the private lender increased 8.1 percent to ₹19,093 crore on a 16.8 percent growth in loans and a marginal compression in net interest margin to 4.40 percent. The non-interest income, excluding the performance of the bank’s treasury, came at ₹5,930 crore, 15.7 percent higher than the year-ago period. The provisions more than halved to ₹718 crore for the reporting quarter, as per the exchange filing by the lender, PTI reported. Earlier in the day, another private lender Yes Bank too posted its fourth quarter results, in which it reported that the standalone net profit rose to ₹452 crore. The bank’s other income – the fees earned from providing non-lending services to customers – rose 56.2% on year. Net interest income, the difference between the interest earned on loans and paid to depositors, rose 2.3% to ₹2,153 crore. Net interest margin, a key profitability measure for banks, dropped to 2.4% from 2.80% a year earlier, and was flat on a quarterly basis. Most Indian banks have been shoring up their deposit base amid tightened liquidity conditions in the banking system and healthy demand for loans. That has weighed on their lending margins.