Apr'25 View on ICICI Bank Ltd

ICICI Bank is the second-largest private sector bank in India offering a diversified portfolio of financial products and services to retail, SME and corporate customers. The Bank has an extensive network of branches, ATMs and other touch-points. The ICICI group has presence in businesses like life and general insurance, housing finance, primary dealership, etc, through its subsidiaries and associates. The stock looks to cross 1,500 on back of following inputs Rationale: • ICICI Bank reported a solid all-round performance. • Bank reported ~15% yoy earnings growth, led by 15% yoy operating profit growth. • Slippages at 2%, with fewer concerns from unsecured loans. • Execution on the ground is impressive, leading to the delivery of best in-class metrics. • Even as it remains a preferred pick, we note that the valuations reflect most of this superior performance as well. • Maintain BUY with an FV of Rs1,500 (Rs1,450 earlier). Q3FY25 Earnings Update: Positives: • Overall loan growth was at 14% yoy, with domestic loan book growing 15% yoy. • Deposit growth was at 14% yoy (in line with loan growth) with CASA growth at 16% yoy. • Overall reported Net Interest Margin was flat qoq at ~4.3%. • GNPL and NNPL ratios were flat qoq at 2.0% and 0.5%, respectively. Negatives: • Bank is already trading at a premium to its peers, and a sharp outperformance looks unlikely.