After the shares of Axis Bank reached a new record high, the private bank became the fifth Indian lender to cross the Rs 3 trillion market capitalization threshold. Ten out of the stock’s eleven sessions saw gains, and during this stretch, it increased by almost 7%. The stock’s market cap reached Rs 3.01 trillion and reached a record high of Rs 981.25 on the BSE. It also increased by as much as 1.2 percent during the day. Axis Bank was trading at Rs 978 on the BSE at 12.30 p.m., up 1% from its previous close. Axis Bank has increased by nearly 5% so far this year.
Earlier, this milestone was reached by HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, State Bank of India, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Axis Bank reported a sizable net loss of Rs 5,728.42 crore for the March quarter owing to one-time impact from the acquisition of Citibank’s India consumer business and the non-bank consumer business of Citicorp Finance Ltd.. The bank produced a strong NIM performance, growing by 30 bps quarter over quarter to 4.26 percent.
Axis Bank paid Rs 11,949 crore in cash to acquire Citibank’s India consumer business as well as Citicorp Finance Ltd.’s non-bank consumer business. However, when operating expenses, one-time acquisition costs, and additional costs for harmonising provisioning policies are added in, the total impact on Axis Bank for the quarter comes to Rs 12,489.82 crore.
Axis Bank noticed an improvement in asset quality during the fourth quarter. The gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio, which was 2.0% at the end of the third quarter, dropped by 36 basis points (bps) from the previous period. A similar improvement was seen in the net NPA ratio, which dropped 8 basis points sequentially to reach 0.39 percent. Gross slippages, or loans that become non-performing assets, totaled Rs 3,375 crore during the quarter, down from Rs 3,807 crore a year ago. Notably, the quarter saw a total of Rs 2,699 crore in recoveries and upgrades from NPAs.
