Axis Bank plummets by 8 per cent on rising NPAs

Axis Bank declined by 8 per cent to Rs. 475 per share on BSE in the early trade on Wednesday as the bank announced its financial results for the second quarter of FY18, posting a deterioration in its asset quality for the July-September 2017 quarter.
 
The bank’s gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at 5.9 per cent in Q2FY18 against 5.03 per cent in the first quarter of FY18. The net NPAs also grew to 3.12 per cent in Q2FY18 against 2.30 per cent in the previous quarter. While in the same quarter of the previous fiscal (Q2FY17), the gross NPAs and net NPAs stood at 4.17 per cent and 2.02 per cent of the loan book, respectively.
 
The asset quality of the bank worsened significantly on the Reserve Bank’s assessment of the bank’s previous financial year figures. According to the set standards, in case RBI’s assessment of bad debts numbers differ from the bank’s assessment by over 15 per cent, the divergence must be disclosed.
 
The bank’s gross slippages or good assets turning bad stood at Rs 8,936 crore for the corresponding quarter, of which, about Rs. 8,110 crore is attributed to the corporate sector. However, the bank’s net profit stood at Rs. 432 crore, growing by 36 per cent in the Q2FY18 on a year-on-year basis.
 
At 1133 hours IST, the stock was trading at Rs 471.20 per share, lower by 8.18 per cent on BSE on Monday. It also recorded a spurt in volume by more than 3.86 times on BSE.