ICICI Stock Price Decline amid GST Order of Rs. 3.67 Crore

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, on April 18, 2025, disclosed that the GST commissioner has issued a tax order amounting to Rs. 3.67 crore. CGST authorities had earlier passed an order regarding this on July 2, 2024.

The order disallowed a portion of the service tax credit that the insurer had forwarded into the GST regime during the 2017–18 financial year, when GST was introduced. The company later challenged this decision by filing an appeal with the Commissioner (Appeals).

The company, in a regulatory filing, said that it got an order from the CGST commissioner (Appeals) on April 12, approving the tax demand. It further mentioned that the order has a GST liability exceeding Rs. 1.88 crore along with a penalty of an equal amount. The company stated that it plans to file an appeal with the appropriate authority.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd reported a two-fold increase in net profit to Rs. 386 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, which is primarily due to reduced expenses. The insurer had posted a net profit of Rs. 174 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year (Q4 FY24). The company stated that there has been a 10% rise to Rs. 16,369 in the insurer’s net premium income during March, up from Rs. 14,788 crore in the same period last year. The insurer also saw a major drop in expenses, which declined to Rs. 15,314 crore in Q4 FY25 from Rs. 22,352 crore a year earlier.

The company explains the reason behind this reduction. It says that the reduction in the total expenses was mainly due to a change in the actuarial liability, which includes adjustments in funds for future appropriation.

ICICI Prudential Share Price Declined

The stock of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has faced a 10% year-to-date (YTD) drop. However, they have risen 6% over the past month and nearly 7% in the last five sessions. The company’s shares settled 1.53% higher at Rs. 595.70 per share on the BSE on Thursday.

The company has a market capitalisation of Rs. 86,101.30 crore. Elara Securities (India) Pvt Ltd, a domestic brokerage, has reduced the target price (TP) of the insurer’s stock to Rs. 690 but has maintained a ‘buy’ rating. From the current market price (CMP), Elara Securities sees a potential 22% upside in the stock.

The brokerage mentioned that ICICI Prudential now offers attractive value after a 10% correction over the past three months. The stock is expected to deliver a 5.4%(approx) Value of New Business (VNB) CAGR over the next 10 years, with a 5% terminal growth, assuming a 12.5% cost of capital.

The brokerage further added that they see scope for higher-than-market implied VNB growth, influenced by an improving product mix (higher share of protection and non-par) and a stronger margin profile. As a result, they have lowered their target price (TP) to Rs. 690 from Rs. 750, using a 1.6x FY27E P/EV multiple (from 1.8x December 2026e), and estimate an EV per share of Rs. 424.