AXIS BANK Q3 PROFIT RISES 25% ON LOWER PROVISIONS

MUMBAI: Private sector lender Axis Bank Ltd on Monday reported a 25.3% increase in its third-quarter profit owing to lower provisions and higher loan recoveries. Net profit rose to ₹726.44 crore for the quarter ended December 31 from ₹579.57 crore a year ago. According to 16 Bloomberg analysts’ estimates, the bank was expected to post a net profit of ₹818.70 crore.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAS) rose to ₹25,000.51 crore as on December 31 from ₹20,466.82 crore a year ago and ₹27,402,32 crore in the September quarter. While fresh addition to bad loans nearly halved to ₹4428 crore in the quarter compared to the previous quarter, it continue to remain at elevated levels.

The September quarter had seen a rise in bad loans due to an annual exercise conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), that pointed out divergence in asset classification for fiscal 2017.

The bank’s watchlist declined 12% over the previous quarter and stood at ₹5,309 crores. The bank had created this watchlist of corporate loans which had a high probability of slipping into the non-performing category.

Recoveries and upgrades improved to ₹4,008 crore compared with ₹350 crore a year ago. Write-offs during the quarter stood at ₹2,822 crore.

Jairam Sridharan, chief financial officer, said that the bank has finished recognising all the big loan accounts as NPA, but expect some slippages in the small accounts. “The worst in terms of fresh slippages is behind us. Now, the focus will shift from recognition phase to the resolution phase,,” said Sridharan in a postearnings media conference call. 7.1 7.4 6.7 India* 6.7 6.8 6.6 China US European Union World