Axis Bank reports loss in Q2FY20, Asset quality improves

Reporting a net loss of Rs 112.1 crore, Axis Bank posted a below expectation September quarter numbers of the financial year 2020 on October 22.

The bank reported a profit of Rs 789.61 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year whereas, in the June quarter of FY20, the bank's profit was Rs 1,370.08 crore.

The CNBC-TV18 poll estimated a profit of Rs 668.3 crore for the September quarter of FY20.

The bank said it had incurred a loss in Q2 due to a one-time tax impact of Rs 2,138 crore on change in the corporate tax rate. "Excluding of this extraordinary item, PAT would have been Rs 2,026 crores, up 157 percent year-on-year (YoY)," Axis Bank said.

The net interest income (NII) jumped 17 percent YoY at Rs 6,102 crore against the CNBC-TV18 poll of Rs 5,979.8 crore. The net interest margin (NIM) stood at 3.51 percent, the highest in the last nine quarters.

The asset quality remained largely stable; in fact, it improved slightly. The gross NPA stood at 5.03 percent against 5.25 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) while the net NPA came at 1.99 percent against 2.04 percent QoQ.

In monetary terms, the gross NPA came at Rs 29,071 crore against Rs 29,405 crore (QoQ) and net NPA came at Rs 11,138 crore against Rs 11,037 crore (QoQ).

The bank reported total slippages at Rs 4,983 crore against Rs 4,798 crore (QoQ) while net slippages came at Rs 2,770 crore against Rs 2,621 crore (QoQ).

The bank reported provisions at Rs 3,518.4 crore against Rs 3,814.6 crore QoQ and Rs 2,927.4 crore YoY.

The provision coverage ratio improved to 79 percent from 78 percent, the bank claimed.

The loan book grew by Rs 24,318 crore QoQ, the largest growth in the last eight quarters. CASA and retail term deposits together were up 21 percent YoY on a quarterly average basis, the bank said.

The Bank's balance sheet grew 11 percent YoY and stood at Rs 8,09,294 crore as on September 30.