Axis Bank reports Q2 loss of Rs 112 crore due to one-time tax impact

Private lender Axis Bank on Tuesday reported a net loss of Rs 112 crore on a for the second quarter of current fiscal due to a one-time tax impact compared to a net profit of Rs 790 crore in the corresponding July to September quarter of previous fiscal.

"The net loss was driven by a one-time tax impact of Rs 2,138 crore due to changes in the corporate tax rate. Ex of this extraordinary item, profit after tax would have been Rs 2,026 crore, up 157 per cent year-on-year," it said in a statement.

Profit before tax for Q2 FY20 stood at Rs 2,433 crore, up 109 per cent year-on-year. The bank's total income rose to Rs 19,334 crore in Q2 of FY20 from Rs 15,959 crore in Q2 FY19.

Net interest income grew by 17 per cent to Rs 6,102 crore from Rs 5,232 crore in Q2 FY19 while net interest margin for Q2 FY20 stood at 3.5 per cent.

The bank showed improvement in asset quality with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) falling to 5.03 per cent of gross advances at September-end from 5.96 per cent a year ago. Net NPAs stood at 1.99 per cent as against 2.54 per cent a year ago.

Provision coverage ratio improved to 79 per cent from 78 per cent. The bank also holds Rs 2,600 crore of provisions towards various contingencies.

Loan book grew by Rs 24,318 crore quarter-on-quarter, marking the largest growth in the last eight quarters. While domestic loan growth stood at 19 per cent year-on-year, retail loan book grew 23 per cent. Retail advances are now 52 per cent of the bank's total advances.

The bank's balance sheet grew 11 per cent year-on-year and stood at Rs 8.09 lakh crore as on September 30.

Axis Bank is the third largest private sector bank in India. It offers a vast spectrum of services to customer segments covering large and mid-corporates, small and medium enterprises, agriculture and retail businesses.

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