Axis Q2 earnings: One-off DTA adjustment, NPA rise to hit profit

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Axis Bank is expected to report a steep drop in net profit for September quarter, hurt by one-off DTA (deferred tax assets)
adjustment. Investors would be keenly eyeing the stressed asset pool besides margin outlook, post linking of fresh retail loans to external
benchmarks. Brokerage Edelweiss Securities estimates net profit to come in at Rs 162.40 crore against Rs 789.60 reported for the same
quarter last year
It expects net interest income to grow 14.4 per cent YoY to Rs 5,986.30 crore from Rs 5,232.10 crore in the year-ago quarter. “After
posting qualitatively soft earnings for June quarter with disappointment on asset quality and in core revenue momentum, we believe all eyes
will be on the behaviour of its stressed pool
In the aforementioned quarter, with the identification of further eight stressed accounts and downgrades to watchlist, overall stressed pool
stood at Rs 17,500 crore, about 2 per cent of total exposure
This implies a cautious outlook for slippages in the near term,” the brokerage said. “However, given that it conservatively enhanced the
contingency buffer in June quarter, provisioning could be lower QoQ,” it said
HDFC Securities estimated profit at Rs 650 crore, down 17.8 per cent YoY
This brokerage projects NII growth at 12.7 per cent. “Led by a 14 per cent loan growth and stable NIMs, core earnings is estimated to grow
13 per cent
Pre-Provision operating profit (PPOP) may grow 33 per cent after factoring in a mere 5 per cent rise in opex and a healthy other income
growth
With the rise in loan loss provisions and DTA impact, we expect net earnings of Rs 650 crore, down 53 per cent QoQ,” the brokerage said
Brokerage Motilal Oswal Securities expects margins to remain stable sequentially at 3.4 per cent, but sees slippages at an elevated level
of 3.1 per cent as the macro-environment deteriorates and the bank disclosed its exposure to a few stressed groups.