Private sector lender Axis Bank 's net profit nearly doubled in the first quarter of the fiscal, led by strong growth in income, although it became more conservative on provisioning.
The bank’s net profit jumped 95 per cent to ₹1,370.08 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2019, compared to ₹701.09 crore in the same period a year ago.
Total income rose sharply by 21.8 per cent to ₹19,123.71 crore for the April to June 2019 quarter, compared to ₹15,702.01 crore a year ago.
Net interest income grew 13 per cent to ₹5,844 crore for the first quarter of the fiscal, against ₹5,167 crore in the same period last fiscal.
Net interest margin stood at 3.4 per cent for the quarter under review. Other income rose by 32 per cent to ₹3,869 crore in the first quarter of the fiscal, compared to ₹2,925 crore a year ago. The bank’s provisions, however, jumped to ₹3,814.58 crore for the first quarter of the fiscal, from ₹3,337.70 crore a year ago.
Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director and CEO, Axis Bank, said that during the quarter the bank made a change in internal guidelines to continue increasing conservatism in its provisioning.
As on June 30, 2019, gross non-performing assets of the bank stood at ₹29,405 crore, or 5.25 per cent of gross assets, against 6.52 per cent a year ago. Net NPAs were at ₹11,037 crore or 2.04 per cent of net assets, compared to 3.09 per cent a year ago.
Loan book
The bank said it continues to grow its loan book “cautiously and steadily”. Its advances grew 13 per cent annually to ₹4,97,276 crore as on June 30, 2019. The Axis Bank scrip fell 1.82 per cent and closed at ₹706.55 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday.