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Axis Bank Q3 Results: Net Profit Jumps Over Threefold On Lower Provisions

Axis Bank's net profit stood at Rs 3,614 crore in the quarter ended December, up 224% year-on-year.

Signage of Axis Bank seen at one of its branch in Bengaluru, India. (Photographer: Anirudh Saligrama/BloombergQuint)
Signage of Axis Bank seen at one of its branch in Bengaluru, India. (Photographer: Anirudh Saligrama/BloombergQuint)

Axis Bank Ltd.'s quarterly profit jumped more than threefold as provisions fell and other income rose.

The private lender's net profit rose 224% year-on-year to Rs 3,614 crore in the quarter ended December, according to its exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 3,216-crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

Net interest income rose 17% over the preceding year to Rs 8,653 crore. Other income was Rs 3,840 crore, up 31% year-on-year.

Axis Bank's overall net interest margin improved 14 basis points quarter-on-quarter to 3.53%. Domestic NIM improved 16 basis points sequentially to 3.66%.

The bank's asset quality improved during the quarter. Its gross non-performing asset ratio fell 36 basis points sequentially to 3.17%. The net NPA ratio also declined 17 basis points over the previous quarter to 0.91%.

  • During the third quarter, Axis Bank saw fresh slippages worth Rs 4,147 crore.

  • Upgrades and recoveries stood at Rs 3,288 crore, while write-offs were at Rs 1,707 crore.

  • As of Dec. 31, Axis Bank reported loans worth Rs 4,643 crore under the Reserve Bank of India's two Covid restructuring schemes. Most of these loans were from retail borrowers.

  • Provisions stood at Rs 1,335 crore during the third quarter, down 64% year-on-year. Sequentially, they fell 23%.

Shares of Axis Bank closed 1.29% down on Monday compared with a 2.66% decline in the Nifty 50. The earnings were announced during after-market hours.

Highlights

  • As of Dec. 31, net advances rose 17% year-on-year to Rs 6.65 lakh crore. Total assets rose 20% from the preceding year to Rs 11.13 lakh crore.

  • While domestic advances grew 15% year-on-year, the international loan book rose 52%, the bank said.

  • Retail loans reported an 18% year-on-year loan growth and stood at Rs 3.67 lakh crore. Corporate advances at Rs 2.29 lakh crore also reported an 17% loan growth.

  • Total deposits rose 20% year-on-year to Rs 7.7 lakh crore. Current account savings account deposits constituted 44% of total deposits.

  • The share of retail term deposits to total deposits fell to 39% as of Dec. 31, compared with 43% a year ago.

According to Amitabh Chaudhry, the lender's managing director and chief executive officer, growth in the bank's wholesale lending portfolio is coming back. While mid-corporate and multinational borrowers continue to drive the corporate loan growth, large companies are also starting to contribute, Chaudhry said.

Like the rest of the credit card industry, Axis Bank has also seen fewer credit cardholders revolve their outstanding credit, said Sumit Bali, group executive & head- retail lending. However the bank expects this to turn around soon.

"Our expectation is that going ahead the unsecured loan book will grow faster than the secured business," Bali said. "However, the ratio of 80:20 in secured and unsecured loans will continue."