Axis Bank Shares Jump Over 8% After Q1 Results

On Wednesday, shares of Axis Bank surged as much as 8.43 percent to Rs 483.80 apiece after the private lender reported its financial results for the first quarter of the financial year 2020-21.

The bank reported an 18.82 percent decline in its net profit for the June-ended quarter at Rs 1,112.17 crore when compared to Rs 1,370.08 crore in the same period last year. The fall in profit was largely due to higher provisions and contingencies, which were up by 15.78 percent to Rs 4,416.42 crore in the April-June period from a year ago.

The highlight of the results was a 20 percent year-on-year rise in the private sector bank's net interest income (NII) to Rs 6,985 crore.

Axis bank also made specific loan loss provisions of Rs 3,512 crore during the quarter when compared with Rs 2,886 crore in the same period last year and Rs 4,204 crore in the March-ended quarter. It has made incremental provisions aggregating Rs 733 crore in the quarter towards COVID-19, the bank said.

Brokerage firms CLSA has maintained a 'buy' rating on the stock with a price target of Rs 600. Macquarie has an 'outperform' rating for the stock.