Axis Bank posts Q2 profit at Rs 1,683 crore versus loss last year; NII grows 20% YoY

Private sector lender Axis Bank October 28 reported a net profit of Rs 1,683 crore for Q2FY21 as against a net loss of Rs 112 crore in Q2FY20.

The number was slightly above the estimates of CNBC-TV18 at Rs 1,616.7.

The bank’s operating profit for the quarter grew 16 percent year-on-year (YoY) and 18 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to Rs 6,898 crore.

The bank said its net interest income (NII) grew 20 percent YoY to Rs 7,326 crore in Q2FY21 from Rs 6,102 crore in Q2FY20. The net interest margin (NIM) for Q2FY21 was 3.58 percent as against 3.51 percent for Q2FY20.

Fee income grew 67 percent QoQ and 4 percent YoY, while retail fee income grew 82 percent QoQ and 0.5 percent YoY. Corporate and commercial banking fees grew 46 percent QoQ and 10 percent YoY.

The bank said its total deposits grew 13 percent YoY on a quarterly average basis.

Savings account deposits grew 15 percent YoY and current account deposits grew 18 percent YoY. Retail term deposits (RTD) were up 25 percent YoY on a quarterly average basis, the bank said.

CASA + RTD deposits ratio improved by 536 bps YoY and 357 bps QoQ to 84 percent, Axis Bank said.

The bank said its specific loan loss provisions for Q2FY21 were Rs 588 crore, compared to Rs 2,701 crore in Q2 last year.

As of September 30, the bank said it had held in aggregate additional provisions of Rs 10,839 crore.

The bank’s balance sheet grew 12 percent YoY and stood at Rs 9,09,463 crore as of September 30, 2020.

At the end of the September quarter, the bank’s gross NPA and net NPA levels were 4.18 percent and 0.98 percent, respectively, against 4.72 percent and 1.23 percent as of June 30, 2020.

Axis Bank said it had provided Rs 1,864 crore against assets that may be restructured.

The bank's slippages from the loan book stood at Rs 741 crore. Corporate slippage stood at Rs 183 crore while recoveries and upgrades stood at Rs 1,848 crore.

Investment exposures stood at Rs 190 crore. The bank said as of Q2FY21, its write-offs stood at Rs 1,812 crore.

The provision coverage ratio stood at 124 percent of GNPA, Axis Bank said.