ICICI Prudential AMC quarterly profit jumps on strong domestic inflows

India’s ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company reported a 10.4% rise in fourth-quarter profit on Monday, helped by robust domestic inflows as investors used the market correction as an opportunity to increase investments.

The country’s most valuable asset manager by market capitalisation posted a profit of 7.63 billion rupees ($81.76 million) for the quarter ended March 31, up from 6.92 billion rupees a year earlier.

Revenue from operations grew 19.5% to 15.17 billion rupees.

Strong inflows into equity mutual funds during the quarter, driven largely by retail investors, helped cushion the market from persistent foreign outflows and supported the asset management industry.

Inflows into Indian equity mutual funds rose 56% to an eight-month high in March, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India showed, even as foreign portfolio investors sold record amounts of Indian shares driven by elevated crude prices and Iran war concerns.

ICICI Prudential AMC’s quarterly average assets under management for mutual funds grew 24.9%, led by contributions from equity funds.

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The firm, a joint venture between India’s second-largest private lender ICICI Bank and British insurer Prudential, is up about 30% since its trading debut on December 19.

The AMC also declared a dividend of 12.4 rupees per share.

Indian equities fell sharply during the quarter, with the benchmark Nifty 50 declining about 14.5%, weighed down by rising oil prices and concerns over inflation and economic growth as geopolitical tensions intensified.