ICICI Bank pre-tax profit up 82% in Q4; provides heavily for Covid-19

Excluding covid-19 related provisions, the profit after tax of the bank would have been Rs 3,260 crore

Private sector lender ICICI Bank reported an 82 per cent jump in pre-tax profit and a 26 per cent rise in net profit in the March quarter (Q4FY20), missing Street estimates because of higher provisioning for the coronavirus pandemic.
 

The bank’s pre-tax profit stood at Rs 1,423 crore as opposed to Rs 782 crore in Q4FY19, while net profit was Rs 1,221 crore against Rs 969 crore. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had estimated a net profit of Rs 3,510 crore.
 

However, excluding coronavirus-related provisions, the bank’s profit after tax would have been Rs 3,260 crore.
 

The lender made provisions of