Quarter 4 Results : ICICI Bank beats estimates, Q4 net up 31% at Rs 1,902 cr

Aided by higher interest income and other income growth, India's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank on Friday reported a forecast beating 31% year-on-year jump in its fourth quarter (Jan-March) net profit at Rs 1,902 crore.

Net interest income (NII) or the difference between interest earned and paid out rose 24% to Rs 3,105 crore. Loan book expanded by 17% y-o-y to Rs 2.54 lakh crore. However, it was a muted growth at just 3% during the Jan-March period, the peak of so-called busy season (Oct-March).

The net interest margin (NIM) rose to 3.01% from 2.70% in the previous quarter.  Other income climbed 17% to Rs 2,228 crore.

During the quarter, the bank's net non-performing (NPA) ratio improved to 0.62% compared with 0.94% in Q3, FY12. Gross NPA ratio too fell from 1.11% to 0.73%.  
Moreover, overall asset quality has improved during the 12 month period. Consequently, provisions and contingencies dropped to 1,583 crore compared with 2,287 crore. Interestingly, the same went up to Rs 469 crore as against Rs 341 crore in Q3 despite a sequential fall in NPAs.

The bank has a strong capital adequacy ratio of 18.52%, way above the Reserve Bank of India's mandated 9% mark. This means, the lender is sitting on excess unused capital. However, the bank did not give any specific direction for its growth plans.

Meanwhile, the bank's restructured loan book stood at Rs 4,256 crore in FY12 as against Rs 1970 crore in FY11. The bulk of the restructuring, according to the MD, took place in Q3 and Q4. The lender does not see any more threat from its restructured assets in FY13.

For the full fiscal year, net profit shot up 26% y-o-y to Rs 6,465 crore while the consolidated net profit increased by 25% to 7,643. The bank has declared a dividend of Rs 16.50 per share.

Indian Stock Market : Sensex ends flat; ICICI, Hindalco, GAIL gain

The Sensex closed at 17,134.25, up 3.58 points, or 0.02 percent. It touched an intraday high of 17,242.15 and a low of 17,022.09

The Nifty ended at 5,190.60, up 1.60 points, or 0.03 percent. It touched an intraday high of 5,223.05 and a low of 5,154.30.

"Nifty future, for the third consecutive day, had a choppy session and closed flat near 5,209. Increase in open interest suggests lack of direction in the market. Volumes were low by around 40 percent compared to the previous day," said Ashish Chaturmohta, Vice President, Derivatives & Technical Analyst, IIFL Private Wealth Management.

"Nifty future on the upside has immediate resistance at around the 5,260 levels. If it sustains this resistance, some short covering towards 5,320 can be seen. On the downside, it holds important support around the 5,150 levels (200-days SMA). A breakdown below this would indicate the first signs of caution and may witness further a downside towards 5,080-5,050 levels," Chaturmohta added.

The BSE Midcap Index was down 0.11 percent and the Smallcap Index slipped 0.42 percent.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE FMCG Index was down 0.84 per cent, the BSE Metal Index declined 0.83 percent and the BSE Realty Index slipped 0.83 percent. The BSE IT Index was up 1.20 percent and the BSE Bankex advanced 0.16 percent.

Coal India (2.24%), State Bank of India (1.55%), BHEL (1.47%), Bajaj Auto (1.43%) and Jindal Steel (1.41%) were among the major Sensex losers.

ICICI Bank (2.28%), Hindalco Industries (2.15%), GAIL (1.53%), Infosys Technologies (1.36%) and M&M (1.21%) were among the top gainers.

ICICI Bank reported a net profit of Rs 1,902 crore for the quarter ended March 2012 compared to Rs 1,452 crore in the same period a year ago. Net interest income increased to Rs 3,100 crore for the quarter against Rs 2,509.7 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

According to Dilip Bhat, Joint Managing Director, Prabhudas Lilladher, the bank's quarterly results were a pleasant surprise. "ICICI Bank is set for a rise of almost up to the Rs 950-960 from the current levels," he said.

The market breadth was negative on the BSE with 1,023 gainers against 1,113 losers.

Note: The National Stock Exchange is upgrading its futures and options trading system and, hence, the exchange is conducting a special live trading session on Saturday, April 28, 2012 in the F&O and capital market segments.

The market will open for trading between 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Source : Economics Times

Indian Stock Market : Sensex nears 17,000; ICICI up post Q4 results

At 1:15 p.m., the Sensex was at 17,027.97, down 102.70 points, or 0.60 percent. It has touched a high of 17,242.15 and a low of 17,024.70 in trade so far.

The Nifty was at 5,172.15, down 16.85 points, or 0.32 percent. It has touched a high of 5,223.05 and a low of 5,154.30 in trade so far.

"Momentum indicators, although in a sell mode, are not convinced about a clear direction due to the sideways trajectory. Today's session is likely to be important to determine the outlook for the short term as the bulls will have to make a comeback with a strong close above 5,255 (middle bollinger), whereas the bears are eyeing a breakdown below 5,148 (lower bollinger) and 5,130 (200 DMA) to take the market in their favour," an Edelweiss report said.

The BSE Midcap Index was down 0.48 percent and the Smallcap Index slipped 0.55 percent.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Realty Index was down 2.46 percent, the BSE Metal Index declined 1.20 percent, the BSE Capital Goods Index slipped 1.09 percent and the BSE Bankex was 0.88 percent lower. The BSE IT Index was up 0.36 percent.

DLF (3.22%), Coal India (2.42%), State Bank of India (2.19%), Tata Steel (1.84%) and Bharti Airtel (1.49%) are the major Sensex losers.

ICICI Bank (2.01%), M&M (0.73%), Hindalco Industries (0.56%), TCS (0.46%) and Infosys Technologies (0.43%) are the top gainers.

ICICI Bank announced a net profit of Rs 1,902 crore for the quarter ended March 2012 compared to a net profit of Rs 1,452 crore in the same period a year ago, as reported. Net interest income increased to Rs 3,100 crore for the quarter against Rs 2,509.7 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

Axis Bank will announce its quarterly results today.

"We expect Axis Bank to report a healthy NII growth of 32.4% YoY to Rs 2,252 crore. NIM, on a sequential basis, is likely to remain flat with a downward bias. Non-interest income is expected to increase by relatively moderate 9.4% YoY to Rs 1,586 crore," an Angel Broking report stated.

The market breadth was negative on the BSE with 1,053 gainers against 1,535 losers.

European markets are down on profit booking. The FTSE 100 declined 0.54 percent, the CAC 40 slipped 0.57 percent, and the DAX fell 1.03 percent.

Source : Economics Times