Axis Bank posts first quarterly loss since listing in 1998 at Rs 21.8 bn

Asset quality deteriorated because gross NPAs as a percentage of advances increased to 6.77 per cent in the March quarter from 5.28 per cent in the December quarter

Private sector lender Axis Bank reported its first net loss, of Rs 21.8 billion, for the quarter ended March as non-performing assets (NPAs) soared and provisions for bad loans surged three times over the corresponding quarter last year. 

The results were well below Street expectations on most key parameters, including profits. For instance, according to a Bloomberg poll, analysts were expecting a 46 per cent year on year fall in net profit to Rs 6.62 billion, but the bank’s corporate loans segment spoiled the show in the quarter. 

Axis Bank had reported a net profit of Rs 12.25 billion