Axis Bank's stress eases, recovery some time away

The silver lining is that the 'non-watch list' slippages moderated in Q4

After many quarters of missing estimates, Axis Bank's results finally topped them. But, significant recovery will take some time.

To begin with, net profit in March quarter (Q4) at Rs 1,225 crore, though down 43 per cent year-on-year, was significantly higher than Bloomberg estimate of Rs 891 crore. Net interest income (NII), which is the difference between interest income and interest expended, grew four per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,729 crore. However, net interest margin (NIM) at 3.83 per cent was lower than 3.97 per cent a year ago. NIM also declined to 3.67 per cent in FY17 from 3.82