Axis Bank shares nosedive over 2%

New Delhi: Shares of Axis Bank declined over 2 per cent on Friday after the company reported a Rs 5,361 crore loss on a consolidated basis for the January-March period. The stock fell by 2.39 per cent to settle at Rs 860 apiece on the BSE.

During the day, it went lower by 3.09 per cent to Rs 853.75. On the NSE, it dipped 2.42 per cent to end at Rs 860 per share. The stock emerged as the biggest laggard on both the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty. In volume terms, 3.41 lakh shares of the company were traded on the BSE and over 2.30 crore shares on the NSE during the day. The company's market valuation fell by Rs 6,412.93 crore to Rs 2,64,673.11 crore.

Axis Bank reported a Rs 5,361 crore loss on a consolidated basis for the January-March period. It had reported a net profit of Rs 4,417 crore a year ago, impacted by the Rs 12,490 crore payout towards the Citi acquisition.

On a standalone basis, the third largest private sector lender reported a Rs 5,728 crore loss. It had a net profit of Rs 4,117 crore in the year-ago period, and Rs 5,853 crore in the preceding December quarter. The bank's core net interest income grew 33 per cent to Rs 11,742 crore driven by a 0.73 per cent expansion in the net interest margin at 4.22 per cent and an over 20 per cent growth in advances. The other income grew 16 per cent to Rs 4,895 crore during the quarter. Its Managing Director and Chief Executive Amitabh Chaudhry told reporters that the impact of acquiring Citi's retail businesses is a one-time one, and if one were to exclude the same, the net profit would have grown by over 61 per cent on a year-on-year basis.