Axis Bank Q2 results: Lender reports all-time high quarterly profit at Rs 3,133 cr

Axis Bank has reported an all-time high quarterly profit of Rs 3,133 crore in Q2 FY22, recording an 86 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth, as compared to Rs 1,683 crore profit in Q2 FY21.

The high profit can be attributed to strong CASA (current account savings account) and fee performance, accelerating loan growth in focus segments, limited restructuring, improving asset quality, and resilient balance sheet, the private lender said.

The bank's operating profit for the quarter was Rs 5,928 crore, while the core operating profit was Rs 5,456 crore. The bank's net interest income (NII) grew 8 per cent YoY to Rs 7,900 crore from Rs 7,326 crore in Q2 FY21. The net interest margin (NIM) for Q2 stood at 3.39 per cent.

Axis Bank MD and CEO, Amitabh Chaudhry said Axis Bank is seeing solid progress 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 said the bank hopes to make the upcoming festivities "special" for customers, with its "'Dil Se Open Celebrations' providing exciting deals and discounts across e-commerce platforms and local retailers."

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During the quarter, Axis Bank's retail loans grew 16 per cent YoY and 4 per cent QoQ; SME loans grew 18 per cent YoY and 7 per cent QoQ. The bank's mid-corporate book grew 32 per cent YoY and 10 per cent QoQ.

On the digital banking and payments front, Axis Bank acquired over half a million credit cards in Q2 FY22, which is the highest in the past 10 quarters, it said.

In terms of provisions and contingencies, Axis Bank's specific loan loss provisions for Q2 FY22 were Rs 927 crore compared to Rs 2,865 crores in Q1 FY22.

"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 stands at 124 per cent of GNPA as of September 30.

Axis Bank's balance sheet grew 17 per cent YOY and stood at Rs 10,50,738 crore as of September 30, 2021. The total deposits grew by 18 per cent YOY, both on a period-end basis and quarterly average balance basis. As of September 30, Axis Bank had a network of 4,679 domestic branches and extension counters in 2,658 centres.

The Axis Bank stock closed at Rs 844.65 today, down 0.45 or 0.053 per cent, compared to the previous session close of Rs 845.10, on the NSE.

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