Axis Bank Q4 profit rises 18% to Rs 2181 cr

Axis Bank Ltd, country's third-biggest private sector lender by assets, reported on Wednesday a better-than-expected 18.4 per cent rise in quarterly net profit, ahead of analysts' estimates.

The Mumbai-based bank said net profit rose to Rs 2,181 crore ($344.6 million) in its fiscal fourth quarter to March 31, from Rs 1,842 crore a year earlier. Analysts, on average, had expected the bank to report a net profit of Rs 2140 crore, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans were little changed from the third quarter at 1.34 per cent.

Axis Bank said it would seek shareholders' approval to raise the foreign investment limit in it to 74 per cent from 62 per cent currently after the bank board approved the plan.

The board also approved a plan to issue up to 142 million depositary receipts, which the lender said would facilitate a share issue outside India.

($1 = 63.2900 rupees)

(Reuters)