Axis Bank plans to raise Rs 20,000 cr through stake sale, debt issuance

The Mumbai-based bank plans to raise 350 billion rupees ($4.1 billion) through local rupee bonds or foreign currency bonds, Additional Tier-1 bonds, infrastructure bonds and other debt, the bank said

By Advait Palepu

 

Axis Bank Ltd plans to raise Rs 20,000 crore ($2.3 billion) through a share sale as part of a bigger capital raise that includes debt. 

 

The Mumbai-based bank plans to raise Rs 35,000 crore ($4.1 billion) through local rupee bonds or foreign currency bonds, Additional Tier-1 bonds, infrastructure bonds and other debt, the bank said in an exchange filing Thursday. The equity funds will raised through sale of local shares or depository receipts, either by way of institutional placement or preferential allotment, it said. 

 

The private sector bank reported a forecast-beating quarterly profit driven by strong growth in its fee income and other income. Profit was down by 0.2% to 71.2 billion rupees in the three months ended March, the bank said in the filing. That beat the average estimate of 66.01 billion rupees, based on a Bloomberg survey of analysts. 

 

The fund raise comes at a time when a gauge of Indian lenders’ shares is near its record high, driven by investors’ bullishness due to the sector’s relative insulation from tariff-related turmoil. Last week, IDFC First Bank Ltd. approved a plan to raise 75 billion rupees ($877 million) from Warburg Pincus LLC and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. 

 

The operating environment is improving, which would help drive growth and profits this financial year, Amitabh Chaudhry, the bank’s chief executive said during a media call on Thursday. “Corporate, secured retail and small-medium-enterprise loans are holding up well. We will stay focused on deposit quality, cost and growth,” he said.

 

Axis Bank’s deposit base rose 10% on year to Rs 11.73 trillion and advances grew 8% to Rs 10.41 trillioN, underpinned by its corporate and small-medium-enterprise loan books. Gross non-performing assets stood at 1.28%, compared with an estimate of 1.51%. 

 

Shares of Axis Bank have risen 13% since the start of the year.