ICICI Bank on Saturday topped Street estimates when it posted a 34.2 per cent growth in net profits for the quarter ended December 31 on higher core income. The private sector lender clocked a net profit of Rs 8,312 crore against Rs 6,194 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Analysts had projected a net profit of Rs 8,000 crore for ICICI Bank for the quarter.

The better-than-expected growth in its bottomline came on the back of a 34.6 per cent increase in the net interest income (NII) to Rs 16,465 crore from Rs 12,236 crore in the year-ago period.

Provisions, however, climbed 12.5 per cent to Rs 2,257 crore from Rs 2,007 crore in the previous year. Speaking to reporters, Sandeep Batra, executive director — ICICI Bank, said the lender tightened its provisioning policy after considering the global and domestic environment.

The tightening resulted in higher provisions of Rs 1,196 crore during the quarter. The provisions also included a contingency provision of Rs 1,500 crore made on a prudent basis. It now holds a contingency provision of Rs 11,500 crore on December 31, 2022.

The percentage of gross non-performing assets (NPAs) fell to 3.07 per cent from 3.19 per cent in the preceding three months, while the percentage of net NPAs declined to 0.55 per cent from 0.61 per cent.

Kotak Bank

Robust margins, which rose to a multi-year high of 5.47 per cent, and improved asset quality helped Kotak Mahindra Bank book a 31 per cent growth in net income at Rs 2,792 crore in the December quarter.

The management sees a further uptick in margins in the fourth quarter as more loans get re-priced. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 2,131 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Punjab & Sind Bank

State-owned Punjab & Sind Bank on Saturday reported a 24 per cent jump in profit at Rs 373 crore for the quarter ended December, aided by a healthy growth in interest income and a decline in bad loans.

The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 301 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Total income increased to Rs 2,245 crore from Rs 2,042 crore in the year-ago period.

IDFC First Bank

IDFC First Bank on Saturday reported a two-fold jump in its net profit to Rs 605 crore for the December quarter, driven by growth in operating income against Rs 281 crore a year ago.