Axis Bank in its second-quarter earnings report for the fiscal 22 posted an all-time high quarterly profit of Rs 3,133 crore, an increase of 86 per cent year-on-year (YoY) corresponding to Rs 1,683 crore profit reported during the same time last fiscal.
The rise in the profit came in due to the better CASA (current account savings account) and fee performance, speedy loan growth in focus segments, limited restructuring, improving asset quality, and resilient balance sheet said the bank.
For the quarter, the bank’s operating profit came in at Rs 5,928 crore, while the core operating profit stood at Rs 5,456 crore.
Net interest income (NII) rose 8 per cent to Rs 7,900 crore in corresponding to Rs 7,326 crore in the same quarter last year’s same quarter. The net interest margin (NIM) for the reporting quarter stood at 3.39 per cent.
Axis Bank MD and CEO, Amitabh Chaudhry applauded the progress the bank is seeing on the business front. “We continue our focus on SMEs and mid-corporate segments, and on the retail side we see better disbursements and growth driven by secured products.”
He added, “We really hope to make the upcoming festivities special for our customers, with our ‘Dil Se Open Celebrations’ providing exciting deals and discounts across e-commerce platforms and local retailers.”
Axis Bank’s retail loans soared 16 percent YoY and 4 per cent QoQ; SME loans saw an increase of 18 percent YoY and 7 per cent QoQ. The bank’s mid-corporate book inched up by 32 per cent YoY and 10 per cent QoQ.
In terms of digital banking and payments, Axis Bank stated it acquired over half a million credit cards in Q2 FY22, the most in the previous ten quarters.
Axis Bank’s particular loan loss provisions for Q2 FY22 were Rs 927 crore, compared to Rs 2,865 crores in Q1 FY22, in terms of provisions and contingencies.
“The bank has not utilised Covi-19d provisions during the quarter. The bank holds cumulative provisions (standard + additional other than NPA) of Rs 12,951 crore at the end of Q2 FY22. This is over and above the NPA provisioning included in our PCR calculations,” Axis Bank said. On an aggregated basis, the bank’s provision coverage ratio was 124 percent of GNPA in the quarter ended.
Axis Bank’s balance sheet was up by 17 per cent YOY and settled at Rs 10,50,738 crore for the quarter ended. The total deposits increased by 18 per cent year over year, both on a period-end basis and quarterly average balance basis.
As of the second quarter, Axis Bank’s network has 4,679 domestic branches and extension counters in 2,658 centres.
The Axis Bank stock closed at Rs 787.50 on Wednesday, down 06.46 per cent, compared to the previous session close of Rs 841.90, on the NSE.