HYDERABAD: Private sector lender Axis Bank on Tuesday reported a net loss of Rs 1,387.78 crore for the quarter ended March, 2020.For the full year FY20, net profit stood at Rs 1,627 crore. Adjusted for one-offs, net profit would have been Rs 5,182 crore, up 11 per cent, Axis Bank said.
“The crisis we are facing as a nation is a long drawn one and it will need courage, grit and a fighting spirit to combat it. We believe in learning from all adversaries. For example, the lock-down has taught us how Work From Home (WFH) can be more productive and convenient. We are now exploring if WFH can become a part of our work culture going ahead,” said Axis Bank’s MD and CEO Amitabh Chaudhry.
While operating profit grew 17 per cent to Rs 5,851 crore over last year, net interest income (NII) shot up 19 per cent to Rs 6,808 crore. Similarly, net interest margin (NIM) stood at 3.55 per cent. For FY20, operating profit grew 23 per cent to Rs 23,438 crore, while NII was up by 16 per cent to Rs 25,206 crore. NIM stood at 3.51 per cent.
As on March, the bank’s gross and net NPAs stood at 4.86 and 1.56 per cent respectively, against 5 and 2.09 per cent, respectively as on December 2019.During the quarter under review, the bank made provisions of Rs 7,730 crore including Rs 3,000 crore related to Covid-19, taking the overall additional provisions to Rs 5,983 crore. The overall additional provisions towards various contingencies along with the standard asset provisions, translate to a standard asset coverage of 1.3 per cent as on March 2020.
Meanwhile, total deposits grew 19 per cent. Within this, savings account deposits and current account deposits grew by 13 and 11 per cent respectively over last year. Similarly, loan book rose by 15 per cent, with retail loans rising 24 per cent.