ICICI Bank’s share price is clocking steady gains on January 27 as the market responds to the strong Q3 results. According to brokerage firms, the private lender has put out a strong show in the weak sector. Despite a challenging environment fueled by credit costs, stable asset quality is one of the key highlights of its Q3 performance.

Motilal Oswal on ICICI Bank 

The brokerage firm, Motilal Oswal, said that India’s second-largest private lender delivered a remarkable performance for the reporting quarter. This came on the back of credit cost control, lower provisions, lower slippages, and stable asset quality. “The bank’s performance amid the current challenging environment has reminded us of the famous proverb, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going!’,” read a research report by the brokerage. It has raised the target price to Rs 1,550 and kept the rating unchanged to ‘Buy’.

Nuvama on ICICI Bank

Nuvama also maintained a ‘Buy’ given the bank’s strong retail franchise and stable asset quality. The brokerage has kept the target price unchanged at Rs 1,470 per share. The Bank’s CFO reiterated that no major stress is visible in key segments and gross credit cost could inch up from 50 bps but not materially. The brokerage house also highlighted the management commentary on the corporate portfolio reiterating that there is “no credit cost incrementally and it is seeing continuous improvement in the quality of the portfolio such as non-fund based outstanding, restructured assets and BB and below portfolio,” also added to the positive sentiment.

JM Financial on ICICI Bank

JM Financial, in a research report, said that the bank is navigating the headwinds with lower credit costs of 0.38% in the current quarter, compared to 0.39% in the previous quarter. The headwinds were caused by the sector’s increasing delinquency in rolling out unsecured portfolios. ICICI Bank is one of the top picks of JM Financial despite a slowdown in the industry. The brokerage firm has maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on the stock, with a target price of Rs 1,420. The last time JM Financial changed the rating and target price on the stock was in October 2024. 

ICICI Bank Q3 results

The bank reported a net profit of Rs 11,792 crore in the third quarter of FY25, up 15% year-on-year (YoY) Compared to Rs 10,272 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The net interest income stood at Rs20,370.6 crore, an increase of 9.1% YoY as against Rs 18,678 crore in the same period of FY24. Its net interest margin dropped to 4.25% from 4.43% a year earlier. It stood at 4.27% in the previous quarter.

ICIC Bank’s performance in Q2 

The bank announced a standalone net profit of Rs 11,745.88 crore in Q2 FY25, up 14.47% YoY compared to Rs 10,261 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. The net interest income saw a growth of 9.5% YoY in net interest income (NII) in Q2 FY25 at Rs 20,048 crore.