Axis Bank posted a net profit of Rs 4,118 crore in the fiscal fourth quarter ended 31 March, up 54% over the previous year and 14% higher sequentially. While the loan book grew 15%, deposits surged 19% in the quarter ended March 2022.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, grew 16.7% YoY to Rs 8,819 crore. The net interest margin stood at 3.49%.

The private lender’s loan book grew 15% YoY to Rs 7,07,696 crore as of 31 March 2022. Credit-to-deposit ratio stood at 86%

Retail loans, which accounted for 57% of the bank’s net advances, grew 21% YoY to Rs 3,99,891 crore. The share of secured retail loans was about 80%, with home loans accounting for 36% of the retail loan book. Home loans, small business banking and rural loans portfolios grew 18%, 60% and 29% YOY, respectively.

 Unsecured personal loans and credit card advances grew 15% and 19% YOY, respectively. SME loans grew 26% YOY to Rs 77,067 crore. Around 96% of the SME book is secured with predominantly working capital financing.

 The corporate loan book grew just 4% YoY to Rs 2,30,738 crore.

The bank’s deposits grew 19% YOY on a quarterly average balance (QAB) basis and 18% YOY on a period end basis. On a QAB basis, savings account deposits grew 19% YOY, current account deposits grew 19% YOY, and retail term deposits (RTD) grew 6% YOY.

 “We have made steady progress across all dimensions of our business. Considerable work has gone into strengthening our core, building granularity while at the same time ensuring that we are well-positioned to grow and leverage the opportunities opening up, hopefully with the pandemic behind us,” Axis Bank managing director and CEO Amitabh Chaudhury told reporters.

The Citi deal is one of its kind and should pivot us into a premium franchise in line with our strategic objectives, he added.

Provisions and contingencies in Q4 of FY22 declined sharply by 54.4% YoY to Rs 987.2 crore. Provision coverage ratio as a proportion of gross NPAs stood at 75% as of March 2022, improving from 72% in the previous quarter.

Axis Bank said it has not utilised Covid provisions during the quarter. It holds cumulative provisions (standard and additional other than NPA) of Rs 12,428 crore as of 31 March 2022.

Credit cost for the quarter ended March 2022 stood at 0.32%, declining by 116 bps YoY and 12 bps QoQ, it added.

Axis Bank showed better improvement in its asset quality with gross NPAs as a percentage of gross advances declining 35 bps sequentially to 2.82% in the quarter ended March 2022. The net NPA ratio in the same period dropped 18 bps to 0.73%.

Gross slippages during the quarter were at Rs 3,981 crore compared to Rs 4,147 crore a quarter ago and Rs 5,285 crore a year ago. Recoveries and upgrades from NPAs during the quarter were Rs 3,763 crore, which resulted in net slippages in NPAs (before write-offs) at Rs 218 crore, down from Rs 860 crore in the previous quarter.

The net slippages in retail were Rs 193 crore, commercial banking at Rs 85 crore and wholesale banking was negative Rs 60 crore.

Recoveries from written off accounts were Rs 719 crore. Hence, “on aggregate, the slippages were lower than recoveries, upgrades and collections from written off accounts”, said the bank, which in the quarter wrote off NPAs aggregating Rs 1,696 crore.

Net interest income for FY22 grew 13% YoY to Rs 33,132 crore. Fee income grew 22% to Rs 13,001 crore.

The bank recorded a 19.3% YoY growth in non-interest income (other income) at Rs 4,223 crore for March quarter. Fee income, which contributed the most to other income, grew 11% YoY to Rs 3,758 crore.

Axis Bank issued 1.1 million new credit cards in Q4FY22, the highest ever for a quarter. For the full fiscal, the bank added 2.7 million cards. The co-branded Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Cards crossed 2 million since its launch in July 2019.