ICICI Bank posts unexpected gains

ICICI Bank Ltd, India's second-biggest private lender, reported an unexpected gain in second-quarter profit as income from trading bonds and currencies climbed.

Net income rose to Rs1,040 crore for the quarter ended 30 September, from Rs1,010 crore a year earlier, according to a company statement issued on Friday. This surpassed the Rs894 crore median estimate of surveys by Bloomberg and Reuters.

Chief executive officer Chanda Kochhar, who took the helm at the Mumbai-based bank on 1 May, said a drop in fee income and a decline in loans were offset by boosting gains from investments. Kochhar said the bank is also adding branches to attract more low-cost retail deposits and bolster loan profitability.

Net interest income, or the difference between revenue from loans and interest paid on deposits, fell 5.2 per cent to Rs2,040 crore rupees from a year earlier, the bank said. Total loans shrank for a fourth quarter in succession, declining to Rs19,100 crore from 22,200 crore a year earlier.

Kochhar has been seeking to curb delinquencies by reducing credit card issuances, personal loans and other unsecured debt.

''There will not be any balance sheet contraction anymore'' as a reduction in the retail unsecured loans will be offset by growth in other types of loans, Kochhar told reporters on a conference call. ''I'm very optimistic on the growth of home loans, car loans and infrastructure loans.''

Income from trading in bonds and currency rose to Rs297 crore in the quarter from a loss of Rs153 crore a year ago. Fee income fell 26 per cent to Rs1,390 crore.

ICICI has added 49 branches since July 24 to raise the total number of outlets to 1,520 by 26 October. Total income dropped to Rs8,480 crore from Rs9,710 crore.