Axis Bank Jumps 1% On Turnaround Q2 Earnings, Better Asset Quality

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Axis Bank shares rose more than 1 per cent in early trading after the bank, in a regulatory filing after market hours hours on Wednesday, reported return to profitability in the July-September quarter on the back of improvement in asset quality. The shares of Axis Bank rose 1.5 per cent to touch an intra-day high of ₹ 512.45 in early trading, and at 9:35 am, the shares were at ₹ 512, up 1.35 per cent.

The country’s third largest private sector lender by market value got back into the black, reporting a net profit of ₹ 1,682.67 crore in the quarter ended September 2020 as against a net loss of ₹ 112.08 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, due to improvement in asset quality improved.

Mumbai-based Axis Bank’s asset quality saw a slight improvement, with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) as a percentage of total advances at 4.18 per cent in the three-month period ended September 30, as against 4.72 per cent in the previous quarter.

Axis Bank said its net interest income – the difference between interest earned and interest expended – increased 20 per cent to ₹ 7,326.07 crore. Its net interest margin – a key measure of profitability – improved to 3.58 per cent in the second quarter of current financial year, from 3.51 per cent in the year-ago period.