Axis Bank Q1 profit jumps 41% to ₹5,797 cr; NII up 27%

The country's third largest private lender Axis Bank Ltd has recorded 41% growth in its net profit at ₹5,797 crore during the April-June quarter of 2023-24, driven by healthy business momentum and strong all-around operating performance.

The net interest income (NII) of the private lender grew 27% YoY and 2% QoQ to ₹11,959 crore, while the net interest margin was 4.10%, up 50 bps YoY, according to a stock exchange filing by Axis Bank.

Amitabh Chaudhry, MD & CEO, Axis Bank says the bank is constantly strengthening digital capabilities and building on a robust pipeline of products and services while keeping customer centricity at the core.

"With India’s strong macro environment supporting growth and providing abundant opportunities, we are geared up and confident of delivering sustainable growth across all our priority businesses,” says Chaudhry.

Segment-wise, Axis Bank's fee income for Q1 FY24 grew 28% YoY to ₹4,488 crore, while the retail fees surged 37% YoY; and constituted 70% of the bank’s total fee income.

Retail cards and payments fees grew 53% on a yearly basis, while retail assets (excluding cards and payments) fees grew 22%.

Provision and contingencies for the first quarter of the fiscal year stood at ₹1,035 crore, and specific loan loss provisions were ₹1,146 crore, while the provision coverage ratio was 145% of gross bad loans as on June 30, 2023.

Axis Bank's balance sheet grew 13% on a yearly basis at ₹13,02,839 crore as on June 30, 2023, while its total deposits grew 17%, including savings account deposits up at 22% and current account deposits at 23% YoY. The share of CASA deposits in total deposits stood at 46%, up 182 bps YoY.

The bank’s advances grew 22% on a yearly basis to ₹8,58,511 crore as on June 30, 2023, while domestic net loans surged 26% and retail loans grew 21% YoY to ₹4,97,810 crore, accounting for 58% of the net advances. In this category, home loans grew by 8%, personal loans by 21%, credit cards by 91%, small business banking by 46%; and rural loan portfolio by 22% on a yearly basis.

The book value of Axis Bank's investments portfolio as on June 30, 2023, was ₹2,85,397 crore, of which ₹2,29,469 crore was in government securities, while ₹47,761 crore was invested in corporate bonds and ₹8,167 crore in other securities like equities, mutual funds, etc.

Over 1.11 million new credit cards were issued in the said quarter, says Axis, adding that it remains "one of the highest credit card issuers" in the country for the past six quarters.

Axis' wealth management business, Burgundy, which covers high and ultra-high net worth clients, recorded total AUM at ₹4,28,885 crore comprising 9,135 families as of June 30, 2023. The shareholders’ funds of the Bank grew 10% YoY and stood at ₹1,30,950 crore as on June 30, 2023.

In terms of asset quality, Axis Bank's gross NPAs and net NPA levels were 1.96% and 0.41%, respectively, against 2.02% and 0.39% as on March 31, 2023. Gross slippages in Q1 were ₹3,990 crore vs ₹3,684 crore in Q1 FY23.

Axis Bank's branch network stood at 4,945 situated in 2,754 centers, up from 4,759 in the year-ago period.