Axis Bank today said it has recorded 22% increase in net profit at Rs 1,123.54 crore for the second quarter ended September 30 on the back of lower expenses.
The bank had a net profit of Rs 920.32 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, Axis Bank said in a statement.
The total income of the lender increased by 27% to Rs 8,280.29 crore during the July-September quarter, from Rs 6,510.89 crore over the same period last year.
The bank continues to show strong performance in terms of growth of net interest income (NII), fee income and operating revenue. With slower growth of operating expenses compared to revenue, the bank's operating profit and net profit have also shown healthy growth, Axis Bank said in a statement.
NII for the second quarter was Rs 2,327 crore against Rs 2,007 crore in the same period a year ago. At the same time operating expenses grew by 18.76% to Rs 1,741.73 crore compared to Rs 1,466.54 crore in the previous fiscal.
During the quarter, other income grew 29% to rs 1,593 crore, driven by growth in fee income which stood at Rs 1,343 crore thereby registering a growth of 20%, it said.
The main business segments driving fee growth during the quarter were retail banking, which grew 43% and large and mid-corporate banking which grew 15%, it added.
The bank recorded a Net Interest Margin (NIM) of the bank rose to 3.46% at the end of in September from 3.37% at the end of first quarter.
During the first half of 2012-13, the bank clocked 22% rise in net profit to Rs 2,277.06 crore, compared to Rs 1,862.67 crore in the same period a year ago.
The bank reported a total income of Rs 16,098.66 crore in the first six months, compared to Rs 12,560.16 crore in the previous financial year.
The bank's NII rose by 21% to Rs 4,507 crore during the first half of 2012-13 from Rs 3,731 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.
The bank's balance sheet improved by 21% to Rs 3,02,681 crore while the bank's advances grew 23% to Rs 1,72,132 crore at the end of September 2012.
Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) for the bank was 12.99% at the end of second quarter.
As on September 30, 2012, Gross NPAs and Net NPAs stood at 1.10% and 0.33%, respectively as against 1.08% and 0.34%, as on September 2011.
The bank held a provision coverage of 80% as on September 30, 2012 (as a proportion of Gross NPAs including prudential write-offs).
Meanwhile, the bank has appointed Somnath Sengupta and V Srinivasan executive directors with effect from October 15, 2012.
