Axis Bank on Tuesday reported a standalone net loss of ₹1,387.78 crore for the fourth quarter of 2019-20 as against a net profit of ₹1,505.06 crore in the same period a year ago.

“Net profit de-grew (contracted) 65 per cent year-on-year to ₹1,627 crore, and was impacted on account of higher provisions taken in 2019-20 and the one-time DTA charge taken in the second quarter to incorporate revised corporate tax rates,” Axis Bank said in a statement, adding that adjusted for these one-offs, net profit would have been ₹5,182 crore, up 11 per cent YoY.

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With economic uncertainty following the coronavirus pandemic, the bank has made ₹3,000 crore of provisions towards Covid-19.

“We believe the crisis will be long drawn out and will impact all sectors of the economy. The provisioning is a prudent thing to do. We have done three analyses of different scenarios,” said Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director and CEO, Axis Bank, adding that the bank’s portfolio is doing quite well.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2020, the bank’s net interest income grew 19 per cent to ₹6,808 crore from ₹5,706 crore a year ago. The net interest margin for the fourth quarter was 3.55 per cent, while for 2019-20, it stood at 3.51 per cent. Other income grew 13 per cent to ₹3,985 crore (₹3,526 crore). The bank’s total provisions for the quarter surged to ₹7,730.02 crore (₹2,711.43 crore).

Axis Bank’s board also approved a proposal to borrow or raise funds in Indian or foreign currency up to ₹35,000 crore through debt instruments, including but not limited to long-term bonds, non-convertible debentures, perpetual debt instruments and Tier II Capital Bonds or such other debt securities as may be permitted under RBI guidelines, from time to time.

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