ICICI Securities reported weak December quarter earnings on Thursday, as the consolidated net profit declined 26.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 279.1 crore from Rs 380.2 crore a year ago, and 6 percent sequentially, led by high operating expenses and finance costs.

Share Market Live

NSE

The wealth-tech firm’s revenue dropped 6.7 percent YoY to Rs 878.8 crore from Rs 941.6 crore in the December quarter a year ago. However, the revenue increased by 2 percent quarter-on-quarter.

The decline in net profit and revenue was a result of a fall in cash volumes, muted capital market activities, an increase in finance costs, and continued investments toward technology as well as other franchise value-enhancing initiatives.

ICICI Securities’ EBITDA declined 10 percent to Rs 548 crore from Rs 608 crore in the year-ago period, while the EBITDA margin slipped to 62.3 percent from 64.6 percent in the same quarter last year.

ICICI Securities’ interest income increased by 31.4 percent to Rs 268.96 crore in the December quarter from Rs 204.66 crore in the year-ago period, majorly due to a rise in MTF funding book and fixed deposits.

The company’s operating expenses surged 24 percent to Rs 89 crore from Rs 72 crore year-on-year, and finance costs jumped 41 percent to Rs 153 crore from Rs 108 crore.

The income from services slid 16 percent to Rs 277.78 crore from Rs 330.57 crore in the year-ago quarter due to a reduction in issuer services and advisory fee income by 56.3 percent to Rs 48.29 crore.

The domestic brokerage’s total client base has expanded past the 87 lakh mark as of December 31, 2022, with 3 lakh additions in the December quarter.

Shares of ICICI Securities ended 0.12 percent lower at Rs 511.50 on Thursday.

(Edited by : Rukmani Krishna)