The net profit of private sector lender Axis Bank rose by 70% to Rs 562 crore during first quarter of the current fiscal as against Rs 330 crore recorded during the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

Axis Bank is the second of the major private sector lenders to declare results, following IndusInd Bank which also declared a healthy net profit for the quarter. ICICI, HDFC and other private sector lenders such as Development Credit Bank (DCB) and Yes Bank will declare results later in the month.

For the first quarter of the current fiscal, the ?total income? of Axis Bank rose by around 34% to Rs 3,864 crore on year on year basis. Somnath Sengupta, president (finance & accounts), Axis Bank said, ?We ?restructured corporate and SME accounts? worth around Rs 707 crore and Rs 290 crore respectively during the first quarter of the current fiscal.

Loans worth Rs 478 crore were restructured in the companies operating in oil & gas sector. For first quarter of the current fiscal, the bank?s provisioning increased by around Rs 20 crore to Rs 315 crore on year on year basis.?

Of the ?total loans restructured? during the first quarter of the current fiscal, loans aggregating Rs 102 crore were restructured for a second time in terms of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) dispensation. The bank restructured loans aggregating Rs 183 crore under the ?corporate debt restructuring? (CDR) mechanism during the quarter. However, Sengupta did not reveal the total number of loan accounts restructured by Axis Bank in first quarter of the current fiscal. He said that Axis Bank?s lending rates would inevitably come down in current fiscal. However, the bank is at present going slow on unsecured lending, mainly due to the rise inbad debts.

The delinquency in Axis Bank?s credit card segment is around 8% currently. During the first quarter of the current fiscal, the bank?s ?corporate, SME, agri and retail lending portfolio? grew at 32%, 30%, 34% and 15% respectively. Lending to ?infrastructure sector? would be the bank?s focus in the current fiscal, as conveyed by Sengupta.

?Demand deposits? and ?advances? of the bank as on June 30, 2009 were Rs 44,176 crore and Rs 78,105 crore respectively. The ?net interest margin? of the bank for first quarter of the current fiscal was 3.34%. As on June 30, 2009, the bank?s ?capital adequacy? and net ?non performing asset? (NPA) ratios were 15.28% and 0.41% respectively. ?Fee income? of the bank for first quarter of the current fiscal grew by 17% on year on year basis to Rs 627 crore.

?Balance sheet size? of Axis Bank increased by 24% on year on year basis to Rs 1,41,142 crore at the end of June 30, 2009. The bank has got no plans to infuse capital in current fiscal.

?Trading profits? in the first quarter of current fiscal for Axis bank was Rs 326 crore as compared to Rs 57.31 crore generated during corresponding period in the last fiscal, registering a growth of 469% on year on year basis.

The share of ?trading profits? to ?operating revenues? of the bank increased from 3.99% in first quarter of the last fiscal to 16.27% in first quarter of the current fiscal.