ICICI Bank Q4 profit drops 50% to Rs 1,020 crore as provisions spike

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
standalone profit at Rs 1,020 crore for March quarter on sharp rise in provisions for the bad loans
The profit number was better than Rs 980 crore estimated by analysts in an ETNow poll
The bank had reported Rs 2,024.64 crore profit in the year-ago quarter. Provisions jumped 128.61 per cent to Rs 6,625.75 crore from Rs
2,898.22 crore in the same quarter last year. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose to 8.84 per cent for the fourth quarter from 7.82 per
cent in the December quarter and 7.89 per cent in the year-ago quarter. Standalone net interest income (NII) for the quarter rose nearly 1
per cent to Rs 6,021.67 crore compared with Rs 5,962.16 crore in the year-ago quarter
Net interest margin jumped from 3.14 per cent in the quarter ended December 31, 2017 (Q3-2018) to 3.24 per cent in the quarter ended March
31, 2018 (Q4-2018). Consolidated net profit of the lender slipped 45 per cent to Rs 1,141.93 crore in Q4FY18 over Rs 2082.75 crore in Q4FY17
The board also recommended a dividend of Rs 1.50 per equity share on face value of Rs 2 each. The board will again meet on Tuesday to take
up issues related to the loan related to the Videocon Group. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and income tax department are
investigating various aspects of the allegations, which were first aired in 2016
ICICI has repeatedly said that it stands by Chanda Kochhar, an ET report noted. The stock has fallen 13 per cent in past three months amid
controversy related to Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot funding Nu-Power Renewables, run by Deepak Kochhar, husband of the ICICI Bank
chief.