ICICI Bank net profit rises 17% in Q1, beats estimates

ICICI Bank Ltd, India's second-biggest lender by assets, reported a 17 per cent rise in quarterly profit, beating estimates, helped by loan growth and higher fee income.

Net profit for its fiscal first quarter ended June rose to Rs 2,655 crore  ($440 million) from Rs 2274 crore a year earlier, the Mumbai-headquartered bank said on Thursday. Analysts on average had expected a net profit of Rs 2573 crore.

Net non-performing loans as a percentage of loans were 0.99 per cent compared with 0.97 per cent in the previous quarter. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid, grew 18 percent annually to Rs 4492 crore in the quarter.

ICICI Bank is the largest private sector lender in India, where nearly two dozen state-run banks account for two-thirds of the assets.  ICICI's smaller rival HDFC Bank last week reported its slowest quarterly earnings growth in more than a decade.

(Reuters)