Axis Bank on Monday reported a rise of 94 per cent in its net profit for the first quarter FY 2021-22 on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.

“The net profit for the period under review rose to Rs 2,160 crore from Rs 1,112 crore for the corresponding period of previous fiscal,” the bank said in a statement.

The bank’s operating profit for the quarter grew 10 per cent YoY to Rs 6,416 crore, while the core operating profit grew 13 per cent to Rs 5,896 crore.

Net interest income (NII) zoomed by 11 per cent to Rs 7,760 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 6,985 crore earned during the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The net interest margin (NIM) for Q1FY22 stood at 3.46 per cent.

Further, the bank said the specific loan loss provisions for Q1FY22 inched lower to Rs 3,151 crore than Rs 3,512 crore in Q1FY21.

“The bank has not utilised Covid provisions during the quarter. The bank holds cumulative provisions of Rs 12,425 crore at the end of Q1FY22. These cumulative provisions translate to a standard asset coverage of 2.05 per cent as of June 30, 2021.”

“On an aggregated basis, our provision coverage ratio stands at 118 per cent of GNPA as of June 30, 2021. Net Credit cost for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, was 1.70 per cent as compared to 2.11 per cent in Q1FY21.”

Furthermore, the bank’s reported ‘Gross NPA’ and ‘Net NPA’ levels as of June 30, 2021, were 3.85 per cent and 1.20 per cent, respectively, as against 3.70 per cent and 1.05 per cent as of March 31, 2021.

“Gross slippages during the quarter were Rs 6,518 crore, compared to Rs 5,285 crore during Q4FY21 and Rs 2,218 crore in Q1FY21. Slippages in Q1FY21 were moderated due to regulatory forbearances that do not exist in the current quarter.”

During the quarter, recoveries and upgrades from NPAs were Rs 2,543 crore, while write-offs were Rs 3,341 crore.

Consequently, the bank’s net slippages in NPAs (before write-offs) stood at Rs 3,976 crore compared to Rs 1,822 crore in Q4FY21 and net slippages of Rs 1,610 crore in Q1FY21.

“Net slippages in NPAs (before write-offs) for ‘Retail’ and ‘SME loans’ stood at Rs 3,741 crore and Rs 84 crore, respectively.”

In addition, the bank’s provision coverage, as a proportion of Gross NPAs, stood at 70 per cent, compared to 75 per cent as of June 30, 2020 and 72 per cent as of March 31, 2021.