Axis Bank Q3 profit inches up 4%; retail loans grow 6%

Axis Bank on Monday reported a 4 per cent growth in its December quarter net profit to Rs 7,010.65 crore against Rs 6,742.99 crore in the year-ago period. On a standalone basis, the third-largest private-sector lender’s net profit for the October-December period increased to Rs 6,489.57 crore from Rs 6,303.77 crore in the year-ago period. The bank’s core net interest income grew by 5 per cent to Rs 14,287 crore, helped by a 14 per cent loan growth but restricted by a 0.29 per cent compression in the net interest margin at 3.64 per cent.

Its chief executive and managing director Amitabh Chaudhry said that Axis Bank’s ambition remains unchanged, and the lender wishes to outpace the system growth in a sustainable manner. The retail loans grew by just 6 per cent on-year during the reporting period, while the 22 per cent lending to small businesses helped it post handsome loan growth.

The bank has been undergoing a recalibration of its loanbook which led to the slower growth in the retail loan book, but the management pointed out that the retail disbursements grew by over 20 per cent and if the same trend continues, it will be able to deliver a faster growth in the retail loan book in over 3 quarters.

Its net interest margin will get impacted by the December rate cut of the Reserve Bank, and the bank sees a further contraction in the number than the one seen in Q3, its chief financial officer Puneet Sharma told reporters. On the asset quality front, its new slippages grew to Rs 6,003 crore from Rs 5,432 crore in the year-ago period and Rs 5,696 crore in the quarter-ago period.

These included Rs 1,698 crore in technical impact for the third consecutive quarter, the bank said. Sharma exuded confidence that asset quality has stabilised and added that what matters more are other indicators, such as credit costs, where the bank is witnessing improvement. The gross non-performing assets ratio improved to 1.40 per cent from 1.46 per cent in the quarter-ago period, while the overall provisions increased to Rs 2,245.92 crore from Rs 2,155.63 crore in the year-ago period.

The other income increased to Rs 6,226 crore from the year-ago period’s Rs 5,972 crore. Sharma said unlike its peers which are hit by the implementation of the new labour codes, the bank had to provide only Rs 25 crore in the reporting quarter towards it because it has been setting aside money for employee’s social security since 2020.

Without disclosing the exact numbers, Sharma said the bank has been able to keep better control on expenses courtesy the returns of investments in aspects like technology which have increased productivity, increased employee utilization, and, also lower number of employees on its rolls. Its overall capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.55 per cent as of December 31, 2025.