Private lender Axis Bank posted a healthy set of numbers for the second quarter on Tuesday. Net interest income grew by 17 percent to over Rs 6,100 crore and asset quality also saw an improvement.

The bank reported a net loss of Rs 112.08 crore on a standalone basis for the second quarter ended September of the current fiscal due to a one-time tax impact.

The private sector bank had posted a net profit of Rs 789.61 crore in the corresponding July-September quarter of the previous fiscal.

The net loss of Rs 112 crore for the quarter was driven by a one-time tax impact of Rs 2,138 crore due to changes in the corporate tax rate, the bank said.

Minus this extraordinary item, PAT (profit after tax) would have been Rs 2,026 crore, up 157 percent year-on-year, it said.

The bank's total income (standalone) rose to Rs 19,333.57 crore in the second quarter of 2019-20 from Rs 15,959.37 crore in the same period last year, it said.

The bank showed improvement in asset quality, with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) falling to 5.03 percent of gross advances at the end of September 2019 from 5.96 per cent a year ago.

Net NPAs stood at 1.99 percent as against 2.54 percent a year ago.

Shares of Axis Bank on Tuesday closed 0.49 percent higher at Rs 712.70 on the BSE.

(With PTI inputs)

First Published:Oct 22, 2019 5:03 PM IST