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ICICI Bank beat first-quarter expectations on Saturday as higher interest income and loan growth helped deliver a record net profit for India's second-largest private lender.Net profit rose 39.7% to 96.48 billion Indian rupees ($1.18 billion) for the April-June quarter, beating the 91.8 billion rupees expected by analysts Refinitiv IBES data showed. Net interest income - the difference between interest earned and paid - rose 38% to 182.27 billion rupees as ICICI's net interest margin expanded to 4.78% from 4.01% a year earlier. The Mumbai-based lender's total advances grew by 20.6%, largely led by retail loans, while deposits grew 17.9%. Loan growth in India has stayed in double-digits in recent months, despite a 250 basis points increase in interest rates since May last year. Banks have looked to shore up their deposit base amid tightened liquidity conditions, while simultaneously cleaning up their balance sheets. HDFC Bank, India's largest private lender, this week reported a 15.8% rise in loans for the April-June quarter and deposits up 19.2%. ICICI Bank's asset quality was stable, with its gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio at 2.76% as of end-June versus 2.81% at the end of the March. Its net NPA ratio was unchanged quarter-on-quarter at 0.48%. The bank booked provisions and contingencies of 12.92 billion rupees, up from 11.44 billion a year earlier.

($1 = 81.9800 Indian rupees)