The profit was up 4% compared to Rs 5,797 crore reported by the lender in the year-ago period.
The interest income for the reported quarter stood at Rs 30,061 crore, marking an 18% increase from Rs 25,557 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.
The interest expended by the lender during the reported quarter stood at Rs 16,613 crore, compared to Rs 13,598 crore reported in the year-ago period, marking a 22% increase on a year-over-year (YoY) basis.
Here is what brokerages said on the Q1 results:
Bernstein: Outperform | Target price: Rs 1,420
The global brokerage maintained an outperform rating on Axis Bank with a target price of Rs 1,420.The PAT was 11% below expectations on account of higher-than-expected credit costs, while the deposit growth was weaker than its larger peers. NIMs would have been down 6-7 bps QoQ had it not been for the interest on income tax refunds this quarter.Nuvama: Buy | Target price: Rs 1,430
Nuvama has maintained a buy call on the stock while cutting the target price to 1,430 vs 1,500 earlier as Q1 was a miss on core income. A QoQ rise was seen in LDR and a sharp increase in credit costs was a key negative. The NIM adjusted for tax refund is 3.99% versus the reported 4.05% and the slippage ratio also fell due to lower recoveries and higher provisions on unsecured loans.
Nomura: Buy | Target price: Rs 1,435
Nomura has retained a buy call on the stock and cut the target price to Rs 1,435 vs Rs 1,485 earlier.
Nomura said that the lender is entering a challenging phase with a sharp pick-up in credit costs led by unsecured retail and lower NPL recoveries. Soft loan and deposit growth trends have been seen while the opex surprised positively. Nomura has built in a 70 bp credit cost over FY25-26F (vs 50 bp previously) and cut FY25-26F EPS by 3-5%.
Citi: Neutral: Target price: Rs 1,320
Citi has downgraded Axis Bank to neutral from buy and also cut the target price to Rs 1,320 from Rs 1,370 as the asset quality has deteriorated and growth and RoA has moderated. Elevated GNPAs along with credit costs have been attributed to lower recoveries. The LDRs pushed 200 bps higher as corporate advances drove growth, while the bank reported flat NIMs.
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