Axis Bank Declares Final Dividend; Approves Raising Rs 55,000 Crore Via Debt, Equities

Axis Bank on Saturday informed the exchanges that its board has declared a final dividend of Rs 1 per equity share, while also approving the plan to raise up to Rs 55,000 crore via debt and equity.

The dividend, which is subject to approval of the members of the bank at the ensuing Annual General Meeting, will be paid within 30 days from the date of conclusion of the AGM, an exchange filing stated. The record date for determining the shareholders' eligibility was not disclosed.

Also, the private lender said, it has secured the board's nod to raise up to Rs 35,000 crore via the issuance of debt instruments, including long term bonds, masala bonds, green bonds, and other debt securities.

Separately, another Rs 20,000 crore is planned to be raised via the issuance of convertible securities or equity shares through qualified institutional placement (QIP), or through American Depository Receipts (ADRs) or Global Depository Receipts (GDRs), it stated. This takes the total planned fundraise to Rs 55,000 crore.

Axis Bank, on Saturday, also declared its fourth quarter results. Net profit rose 9% from the previous three months to Rs 7,071 crore, marginally above the consensus estimate of Rs 6,958 crore, as shared by the analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

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The bottomline was down 0.6% from Rs 7,117 crore a year earlier. The lender said tax expense for the quarter was lower by Rs 2,193.2 crore after income-tax authorities allowed depreciation on intangible assets linked to the acquisition of Citi's India consumer business.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest paid, rose 5% from a year earlier to Rs 14,457 crore, missing the Rs 14,727-crore Bloomberg estimate. Net interest margin was 3.62%, compared with 3.64% in the previous quarter.

The bank's asset quality improved, with gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio slipping to 1.23% from 1.40% in the previous quarter, and 1.28% a year earlier. Net NPA ratio eased to 0.37% from 0.42% in the prior quarter, whereas gross slippages during the quarter fell to Rs 4,709 crore from Rs 6,007 crore in the December quarter.

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