Axis Bank on Thursday reported a net loss of Rs 5,728.42 crore for the March quarter of the financial year 2022-23 on account of the acquisition of Citi Bank's India consumer business during the quarter. The company in its exchange filing said that excluding the impact of exceptional items, the profit would have been Rs 6,625.29 crore for the quarter. 


It would have been a 61 per cent rise in growth against the reported profit of Rs 4,117.77 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.


Axis Bank on March 1 announced the acquisition of Citibank’s consumer business and non-banking financial company (NBFC) consumer business. 


During the quarter, the bank's total income increased to Rs 28,865 crore from Rs 22,000 crore a year ago. Interest income grew to Rs 23,970 crore during the quarter compared to Rs 17,776 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The private lender reported a standalone operating profit, which excludes provisions and contingencies, of Rs 9,168 crore, compared to Rs 6,466 crore a year earlier.


The bank's board has recommended a dividend of Rs 1 per share or 50 per cent of Rs 2 face value for the year ended March 31, 2023.


Axis Bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) were down to 2.02 per cent of gross advances as of March 31, 2023, from 2.82 per cent by the end of March 2022.


The indicator which shows the difference between interest earned and expended, net interest income (NII) grew 33 per cent to Rs 11,742 crore. Net interest margins were at 4.22 per cent, up 73 basis points year-on-year.


 


Provision and contingencies for the quarter stood at Rs 3.06 billion, down from Rs 9.87 billion a year ago.

 


 

For the fourth quarter, the bank reported an exceptional item of Rs 12,489.82 crore. The bank paid Rs 11,603 crore for the Citibank acquisition announced last year in March. The sale excludes Citi’s institutional client businesses in India. The exceptional cost also included Rs 179.27 crore towards one-time stamp duty costs relating to the acquisition of Citi India Consumer Business and Rs 361.47 crore towards harmonisation of provisioning and expense policies and estimates used in the preparation of financial statements.

 

With a base of 8.6 million cards, Axis Bank is the fourth-largest credit card issuer in India. Citibank’s acquisition will add around 2.5 million new cardholders, elevating it to the top three card businesses in the nation.