ICICI Bank's gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans fell to 7.75% at the end of December

ICICI Bank on Wednesday reported a net profit of Rs 1,604.91 crore for the October-December period. That marked a decline of 2.8 per cent from a net profit of Rs 1,650.24 crore reported for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, according to a regulatory filing by the private sector bank. The net profit fell short of analysts' average estimate of Rs 1,836 crore, news agency Reuters reported citing data from Refinitiv.

Total income stood at Rs 20,163.25 crore for the three-month period, up 19.8 per cent from Rs 16,832.22 crore for the corresponding period a year ago.

Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans, a measure of asset quality, fell to 7.75 per cent at the end of December 2018, from 8.54 per cent in the previous quarter, and 7.82 per cent in the quarter ended December 31, 2017.

Provisions climbed nearly 19 per cent to Rs 4,244 crore. The bank also recognised a tax expense of Rs 297 crore in the quarter, versus a tax gain of Rs 162 crore in the same period the year before.

Shares in ICICI Bank closed 6.2 per cent higher at Rs 368.40 apiece on the NSE, outperforming a market that ended flat, ahead of the earnings announcement by the company.

(With agency inputs)