ICRA Profit Down 17% in Dec Quarter: Revenue Rises 11.3%

Mumbai, Jan 23 (PTI) Rating agency ICRA on Tuesday reported a nearly 17 per cent decline in profit at Rs 32.41 crore in the December quarter, mainly due to higher expenses on a consolidated basis.

It had posted a net profit of Rs 39.24 crore for the October-December quarter of 2022-23.

ICRA said its consolidated revenue from operations increased by 11.3 per cent to Rs 114.6 crore for the third quarter that ended December 2023 as compared to Rs 103 crore a year ago, according to a regulatory filing.

The company's expenses rose to Rs 91.03 crore in the December 2023 quarter, up from Rs 69.87 crore in the year-ago period.

The agency said financials for the current quarter and nine months include the impact of the amount provided towards a legal matter and transaction costs related to the acquisition of D2K Technologies India Private Ltd (D2K).

ICRA's ratings revenue continued its growth momentum backed by the sequential rise in bond issuances and bank credit, although the securitisation market recorded a contraction due to tightened regulatory norms on unsecured loans by the NBFCs and expectations of a fall in interest rates, which had led to the postponement of issuances, its Managing Director and Group CEO Ramnath Krishnan said.

"We expect issuances to pick up in the ongoing quarter with more clarity on the regulatory impact and following the entry of new players in the market," he said.

Further, the company said ICRA Analytics revenue growth in the third quarter of the current fiscal was driven by its Knowledge Service business and consolidation of D2K from the current quarter.

In the Market Data vertical, key partnership arrangements were tied up with leading global data service providers for providing valuation services.

The D2K acquisition was completed in the quarter and is expected to bring in synergies and drive growth in risk and analytics business, ICRA added.