Mumbai, July 25: ICICI Bank, India’s No. 2 lender, on Saturday beat forecast with a 20.6 percent rise in net profit, helped by higher trading income that offset provisions for bad debts and slowing loan growth.
New York-listed ICICI said net profit rose to 8.78 billion rupees ($182 million) in its fiscal first quarter ending in June, from 7.28 billion rupees reported a year ago.
A Reuters poll of analysts had forecast net profit to rise to 7.7 billion rupees.
The bank said its total income in the June quarter fell to 92.23 billion rupees from 94.30 billion rupees a year ago.
ICICI has slowed lending as it tackles a jump in bad loans in its mainstay retail market.
Shares in ICICI, which has a market value of about $17.6 billion, rose 117 percent in the June quarter, compared to an 83 percent rise in the sector index and 49.3 percent rise in the benchmark index.
The stock closed 1.4 percent lower at 766.85 rupees on Friday in a Mumbai market that climbed almost 1 percent.
—Agencies