Axis Bank posts two fold jump to end at profit of Rs. 1,680 crore in December

Private sector lender Axis Bank Tuesday reported over two-fold jump in net profit to Rs 1,680.85 crore for the third quarter ended December 31. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 726.44 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

The net interest income grew 18 percent to 5,604 crore in the third quarter this fiscal. Total income during the quarter under review rose to Rs 18,130.42 crore as against Rs 14,314.63 crore in the year-ago period, Axis Bank said in a regulatory filing.

Net non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at 2.36 percent of the net advances as on December 31, 2018, down from 2.56 percent by the end of December 2017. Gross NPAs (or bad loans), however, worsened to 5.75 percent of the gross advances, up from 5.28 percent a year ago.

In value terms, the gross NPAs stood at Rs 30,854.67 crore in December quarter as against Rs 25,000.51 crore in the same period previous year. Net bad loans were Rs 12,233.29 crore as against Rs 11,769.49 crore. The bank said it has witnessed healthy loan growth during the quarter, with domestic loan rising by 18 percent year-on-year; while retail loan book grew by 20 percent. Its retail advances constitute 49 percent of the total advances, Axis bank said.

(With inputs from agencies.)