Axis Bank posts net loss of Rs 2,189 cr in Q4 on higher bad loan provisioning as gross NPAs rise to 6.77%

New Delhi: Private sector lender Axis Bank, on Thursday, reported a net loss of Rs 2,188.74 crore for the quarter ended March 2018 due to a higher provisioning for bad loans. The bank had, however, registered a net profit of Rs 1,225.10 crore in the corresponding quarter of the financial year ended March 2017. The lender substantially raised its provisioning to cover for bad loans and contingencies during the quarter, to Rs 7,179.53 crore, while it had set aside Rs 2,581.25 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, it said in a regulatory filing. Total income during the January-March 2018 period stood at Rs 14,559.85 crore, up slightly from the Rs 14,181.31 crore earned in the same period of 2016-17. [caption id=“attachment_4198527” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Also, for the entire fiscal 2017-18, the bank’s net profit fell by 92.5 percent to Rs 275.68 crore. It had a net profit of Rs 3,679.28 crore in the fiscal ended March 2017. Total income during the fiscal increased to Rs 56,747.40 crore, from Rs 56,233.47 crore. On the asset front, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at 6.77 percent of gross advances at the end of March 2018 as against 5.04 percent in the year-ago period. In absolute terms, gross NPAs were Rs 34,248.64 crore as on 31 March, 2018, up from Rs 21,280.48 crore as of end-March 2017. Net NPAs or the bad loans’ percentage stood at 3.40 percent (Rs 16,591.71 crore) from 2.11 percent (Rs 8,626.55 crore). Net interest income (NII) in the fourth-quarter of the last fiscal was flat at Rs 4,730 crore, the bank said. Axis Bank’s shares ended at Rs 494.55 apiece on the BSE, down 0.77 percent over Wednesday’s close.