ICICI Bank on Saturday surpassed Street estimates by posting a 25.39 per cent rise in standalone net profits for the third quarter ended December 31, 2021 on lower provisions and a strong growth in its core income.

The private sector lender posted a record net profit of Rs 6,193.81 crore compared with Rs 4,939.59 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Analysts had expected ICICI Bank to report profits of around Rs 5,800 crore.

Provisions moderated to Rs 2,007.30 crore against Rs 2,741.72 crore in the year-ago period. Core net interest income (NII-interest earned minus interest paid) grew 23 per cent over the previous corresponding period to Rs 12,236 crore from Rs 9,912 crore. A 25 per cent rise in non interest income to Rs 4,899 crore (Rs 3,921 crore) also supported the strong numbers.

Moreover, the asset quality of ICICI Bank also improved during the quarter with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) in absolute terms falling to Rs 37,052.74 crore from Rs 41,437.41 crore on a sequential basis.

The bank’s gross NPA ratio declined to 4.13 per cent from 4.82 per cent, while the net NPA ratio fell to 0.85 per cent — the lowest level since March 31, 2014 from 0.99 per cent in the preceding three months.

During the quarter, there were net deletions from gross NPAs of Rs 191 crore, excluding write-offs and sale, compared with net additions of Rs 96 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal.

Gross slippages declined to Rs 4,018 crore from Rs 5,578 crore in the second quarter. Recoveries and upgrades of NPAs, excluding write-offs and sale, stood at Rs 4,209 crore.

During the quarter, domestic advances grew 18 per cent over the year-ago period and 6 per cent sequentially. The bank added that the growth was broad-based with the retail loan portfolio rising 19 per cent year-on-year, and comprising 61.3 per cent of the total loan portfolio as on December 31, 2021.

The value of credit card spends during the third quarter was 2.2 times the value of credit card spends in the same period of the previous year.

The business banking portfolio grew 39 per cent year-on-year while the SME business, comprising borrowers with a turnover of less than Rs 250 crore, rose 34 per cent over the same period of the previous year.

Speaking to the press today, Sandeep Batra, executive director, ICICI Bank said that while the third wave may have created local disruption, the lender does not expect any significant impact to its portfolio. He added that ICICI Bank remains optimistic with regard to the overall economy.