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Axis Bank Q2 Results: Net Profit Up 86% On Lower Provisions

Axis Bank net profit rose sharply on lower provisions.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>People walk past a branch of Axis Bank Ltd. (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)</p></div>
People walk past a branch of Axis Bank Ltd. (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)

Axis Bank Ltd.'s quarterly profit rose in the second quarter as provisions fell.

Net profit jumped 86% year-on-year to Rs 3,133.3 crore in the three months ended September, the private lender said in an exchange filing. Analysts polled by Bloomberg estimated a net profit of Rs 2,649.6 crore.

The bank's net interest income, or core income, rose 8% over the preceding year to Rs 7,900 crore. Net interest margin stood at 3.39%.

Other income, too, increased 17% year-on-year to Rs 3,231 crore.

Asset Quality

The lender's asset quality, too, improved. Its gross non-performing asset ratio was at 3.53% compared with 3.85% as of June. Net NPA ratio improved 12 basis points quarter-on-quarter to 1.08%.

Credit cost for the quarter was at 0.54% compared with 1.7% in Q1 FY22, the bank said.

Loan loss provisions for Q2 FY22 were at Rs 927 crore compared with Rs 2,865 crore in Q1 FY22.

  • Under the second round of Covid restructuring, Axis Bank restructured Rs 2,393 crore in loans. This included Rs 2,208 crore in personal loans.

  • In the first round of restructuring, the bank had restructured Rs 2,124 crore in loans, with much of this coming from corporate loans. Of this, about Rs 46 crore has slipped into NPA category.

Business Growth 

The bank’s advances grew 10% year-on-year to Rs 6.21 lakh crore. The loan book grew only 1% quarter-on-quarter.

  • Retail loans grew 16% year-on-year and 4% quarter-on-quarter. Retail loans accounted for 56% of the net advances. About 80% of this book is secured.

  • SME loans grew 18% year-on-year and 7% quarter-on-quarter.

  • Mid-corporate loans grew 32% year-on-year and 10% quarter-on-quarter.

Deposits grew 18% year-on-year and 4% quarter-on-quarter. The ratio of current account and savings account deposits stood at 42%, up 201 basis points compared to a year ago. Retail term deposits grew 11% year-on-year and 3% quarter-on-quarter.