Axis Bank Q1 Results: Profit zooms 91% YoY

Axis Bank on Monday reported a 91 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit at Rs 4,125.26 crore for the June quarter compared with Rs 2,160.15 crore in the same quarter last year. An ET NOW poll of analysts had anticipated the profit figure at Rs 3,400 crore.

Net interest income (NII) for the quarter rose 21 per cent YoY to Rs 9,384 crore, the private lender said in a BSE filing. Net interest margin (NIM) for the quarter came in at 3.6 per cent, up 14 basis points YoY.Fee income for the quarter jumped 34 per cent YoY to Rs 3,576 crore. Retail fees climbed 43 per cent YoY and constituted 66 per cent of the bank’s total fee income.

The bank said it made specific loan loss provisions worth Rs 777 crore compared with Rs 602 crore in the March quarter. The bank, Axis Bank said, has not utilised Covid provisions during the quarter.

Overall, the private lender held cumulative provisions of Rs 11,830 crore at the end of the June quarter. It is pertinent to note that this is over and above the NPA provisioning included in our PCR calculations. These cumulative provisions translate to a standard asset coverage of 1.70 per cent as on 30 June, 2022. On an aggregated basis, our provision coverage ratio stands at 134 per cent of GNPA," the bank said.

The Gross NPA ratio for the quarter stood at 2.76 per cent compared with 2.82 per cent in the March quarter. Credit cost for the quarter stood at 0.41 per cent, down 129 basis points YoY.

The bank said it issued 9.9 lakh credit cards in June quarter, which is incremental share of 17 per cent for the last six months.

Credit card spends were up 96 per cent YoY for the quarter. The bank said it was the second largest player in merchant acquiring with market share of 17 per cent, accounting for the incremental share of 30 per cent for last three months.

MD & CEO Amitabh Chaudhry said, “As an institution, we continue to make good progress despite the macroeconomic headwinds that pose a challenge at multiple levels, both domestically and to the larger global economy."

The bank said its balance sheet was up 14 per cent YoY at Rs 11,52,580 crores as of 30th June 2022. Total deposits grew 14 per cent YoY on a quarterly average balance (QAB) basis and 13 per cent YoY on a period-end basis.

The lender's advances rose 14 per cent YoY to Rs 7,01,130 crore. The bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 87 per cent. Retail loans grew 25 per cent YoY to Rs 4,12,683 crore and accounted for 59 per cent of the net advances of the bank. The share of secured retail loans was 79 per cent, with home loans comprising 35 per cent of the retail book. Home loans grew 18 per cent YoY, small business banking 74 per cent YoY and the rural loan portfolio grew 42 per cent YoY.

Unsecured personal loans rose 20 per cent YoY. Credit Card advances jumped 42 per cent YoY. "SME book that remains well diversified across geographies and sectors grew 27% YOY to Rs 71,972 crore. The corporate loan book stood at Rs 2,16,475 crore.