Axis Bank Q4 preview: modest margin pressure to linger, asset quality seen improving
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Axis Bank is expected to report a steady performance in its March quarter earnings, marked by resilient loan growth, modest margin pressure and improving asset quality trends, six brokerages said. While headline growth remains healthy, the focus of analysts and investors will be on liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) and management commentary on the outlook for growth and profitability.Net profit at India’s third-largest private sector lender is expected to fall more than 2% to ₹6,942 crore from a year earlier, according to a poll by Bloomberg.
However, profit is seen rising almost 7% sequentially. The bank is scheduled to release its earnings report on Saturday.Loan growth is expected to remain robust, although sequential momentum may soften.
In the quarter ended December, the bank’s loans increased 14% on-year to ₹11.59 trillion and deposits grew 15% to ₹12.6 trillion.Brokerage Kotak Institutional Equities expects the bank’s loan growth at 18% on-year and 6% on-quarter. However, margins are likely to face some pressure in the quarter due to the lagged impact of repo rate transmission.
The Reserve Bank of India cut the repo rate by 25 basis points in December.The net interest margin is likely to decline 7 bps on-quarter due to transmission of repo cut, partly offset by term deposit re-pricing and cash reserve ratio cut, Nomura Global Markets Research said in a report.While most brokerages expect margins to decline by 6-7 bps, Kotak Institutional Equities is slightly more conservative, building in a 10 bps on-quarter decline to factor the composition of the loan portfolio that the bank is pursuing for growth. The bank’s NIM was 3.64% in the quarter ended December.Systematix
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