Axis Bank Q4 profit rises 54% to ₹4,118 cr; NII grows 17%

Axis Bank reported a net profit of ₹4,118 crore for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2021-22, marking a rise of 54% from ₹2,677 crore reported in the year-ago period.

Net interest income (NII), the difference between interest earned and interest expended, increased 17% to ₹ 8,819 crore in the quarter under review from ₹7,555 crore in the March quarter of the previous fiscal.

Operating profit of the private sector lender increased to ₹6,466 crore during the quarter ended March 31, 2022, growing 13% from ₹5,737 crore a year ago.

Provisions and contingencies for Q4 FY22 slipped to ₹9.87 crore from ₹13.35 crore in Q4 FY21. Specific loan loss provisions for Q4FY22 were ₹602 crore. Axis Bank said that it has not utilised Covid-19 provisions during the March quarter, and holds cumulative provisions, including standard and additional provisions other than NPA, of ₹12,428 crore.

For the entire fiscal 2021-22, net profit stood at ₹13,025 crore, growing 98% from ₹6,588 crore. NII for the full fiscal was ₹33,132 crore, after an increase of 13% from ₹29,239 crore in FY21. Operating profit grew 7% to ₹24,742 crore from ₹23,128 crore.

In terms of asset quality, gross NPA as a percentage of gross consumer assets slipped to 2.82% at the end of March 31, 2022, as compared to 3.70% at the end of March 31, 2021. Meanwhile, net NPA as a percentage of net consumer assets also declined to 0.73% at the end of FY22 from 1.05% at the end of FY21.

Gross slippages during the March quarter were ₹3,981 crore, compared to ₹5,285 crore in Q4 FY21, Axis Bank said in a statement. Recoveries and upgrades from NPAs during the quarter were ₹3,763 crore. Consequently, the net slippages in NPAs before write-offs for the quarter was ₹218 crore as compared to ₹1,822 crore in Q4 FY21.

“Considerable work has gone into strengthening our core, building granularity while at the same time ensuring that we are well positioned to grow and leverage the opportunities opening up, hopefully with the pandemic behind us. The Citi deal is one of its kind, and should pivot us into a premium franchise in line with our strategic objectives. With smart products, services, partnerships and talent on our side, we look forward to further building on our performance in the new financial year,” says Amitabh Chaudhry, MD and CEO, Axis Bank.