Axis Bank Q1 Results: Net Profit Up 40.5%

Private sector lender Axis Bank Ltd. reported a 40.5% year-on-year rise in net profit for the quarter ended June, owing to higher core income and other income.

The lender's net profit rose to Rs 5,797 crore in the first quarter, higher than the Rs 4,125 crore reported a year ago.

Core income, or net interest income, grew 27.44% year-on-year to Rs 11,959 crore. Other income also improved to Rs 5,087 crore, up 74% from a year ago.

Domestic net interest margin dipped 15 basis points quarter-on-quarter to 4.2%. Overall NIM also fell 12 basis points sequentially to 4.1%.

The drop in NIMs was largely owing to repricing of deposits at the bank, said Puneet Sharma, chief financial officer at Axis Bank.

"We expect the pace of repricing of deposits to get slower for the rest of the financial year," Sharma said.

The asset quality position for the lender improved, with the gross non-performing asset ratio falling 6 basis points sequentially to 1.96% as of June 30. The net NPA ratio was 0.41%, up from 0.39% as of March 31.

Provisions for the quarter were Rs 1,035 crore, as compared with Rs 359 crore a year ago.

Total deposits rose 17% year-on-year to Rs 9.41 lakh crore. Current account savings account deposits increased 22% year-on-year to Rs 4.29 lakh crore, or 46% of total deposits.

Net advances rose 22% year-on-year and stood at Rs 8.58 lakh crore. Domestic advances were up 26% from a year ago. Retail loans surged 21% from a year ago to Rs 4.98 lakh crore. Corporate loan book increased 25% from last year to Rs 2.73 lakh crore.

"Corporate loan growth was led by sectors like NBFCs, retail trade, roads, textiles, etc. We are seeing broad-based demand for working capital and capex," said Rajiv Anand, deputy managing director at Axis Bank.