ICICI Bank profit reaches 148.43 billion rupees, beating estimates
Key Facts
India's ICICI Bank reported standalone net profit of 148.43 billion rupees for the quarter ended September 2026, beating analysts' expectations, according to Reuters. The bank compared the result with net profit of 123.59 billion rupees in the corresponding period a year earlier, as its loan portfolio expanded and interest and fee income rose. Analysts' estimates compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group pointed to net profit of 142.51 billion rupees for the quarter under review, the agency reported. The earnings beat was at the bank's standalone net profit level, with corporate, business banking and retail lending growing during the period. The increase in profit coincided with core operating profit rising faster than operating expenses, according to the bank's quarterly results statement.
The bank said in its statement that net interest income grew 17.7% from the same period a year earlier as its loan portfolio expanded. Net interest margin stood at 4.18% during the quarter, with income from lending continuing to grow. Fee income rose 20.1% year on year, outpacing net interest income growth over the same period. Operating expenses, meanwhile, increased 8.5%, more slowly than both fee income and net interest income. Core operating profit grew 21.8% year on year, while treasury operations posted a loss that the bank described in its statement as "230 crore rupees".
On the funding side, the bank's period-end deposits rose 27.1% from a year earlier, according to its results statement for the quarter ended September 2026. This growth included foreign currency deposits from non-residents, which helped lift overall deposit growth above the rate recorded when they were excluded. Excluding this category, deposits grew about 17.0% year on year at the end of the period, according to the bank. The increase in total deposits was smaller than the overall increase in the loan portfolio, while credit growth after the corresponding exclusions also exceeded deposit growth excluding that category. This gap between the pace of funding and lending expansion emerged at the end of September, with both sides growing from their year-earlier levels.
The overall loan portfolio grew 30.0% year on year at the end of September 2026, according to the bank, outpacing total deposit growth. The portfolio included financing provided by international branches against foreign currency deposits from non-residents, alongside the rest of its lending business. Excluding this financing, loans grew about 24.1% year on year, compared with the higher rate for the overall portfolio. Credit expansion thus continued after the exclusion, with the business banking, domestic corporate, retail and rural lending portfolios also growing during the period. Loan growth after the exclusion was lower than overall deposit growth but higher than deposit growth calculated without foreign currency deposits from non-residents.
The business banking portfolio led growth among the segments cited in the bank's results, rising 33.8% year on year at the end of September. The domestic corporate portfolio grew 30.6% from a year earlier, also expanding faster than the overall loan portfolio. The retail and rural lending portfolio rose 14.8% year on year, more slowly than both business banking and domestic corporate lending. Growth in the business banking and corporate portfolios also exceeded total deposit growth at the end of the period, based on a comparison of the expansion rates announced by the bank. Retail and rural lending growth, meanwhile, was below the rate of deposit growth even after excluding foreign currency deposits from non-residents.
On asset quality, the gross non-performing loan ratio stood at 1.20% at the end of September 2026, alongside the year-on-year expansion in the lending portfolio. The net non-performing loan ratio stood at 0.30% at the end of the same period, according to the bank's statement. On capital, the common equity tier 1 ratio was about 16.01%, among the financial position indicators released with the quarterly results. The bank's results were in focus for investors ahead of the Indian market open, alongside HDFC Bank's results, according to Reuters. The agency said investors were assessing the two banks' results amid pressure from rising oil prices, putting private-sector bank earnings in the spotlight ahead of trading.