Axis Bank shares tumble nearly 5% post earnings announcement

New Delhi: Shares of Axis Bank on Friday tanked nearly 5 per cent after the country's third largest private sector lender reported a decline in March quarter profit.

The stock dropped 4.58 per cent to Rs 1,151.95 on the BSE.

At the NSE, it tumbled 4.55 per cent to Rs 1,152.10.

The stock emerged as the biggest laggard among the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty firms during the morning trade.

In the equity market, the 30-share BSE benchmark gauge traded 691.41 points lower at 79,110.02, and the Nifty quoted 237.50 points down at 24,009.20.

Axis Bank on Thursday reported a marginal decline in March quarter profit to Rs 7,117 crore from Rs 7,130 crore in the year-ago period.

A 64 per cent rise in loan loss provisions and a steep fall in the trading income were the primary reasons for the decline in the bottom line, along with a shift in the bank's strategies.

Its Chief Executive and Managing Director Amitabh Chaudhry said it chose to focus on profitability over growth in FY25, given the difficult environment.

Overall provisions moved up to Rs 1,359 crore as against Rs 1,185 crore in the year-ago period, but it was a 64 per cent rise in loan loss provisions at Rs 1,369 crore, which hurt the profits.

Trading income dropped 83 per cent to Rs 173 crore from Rs 1,021 crore in the quarter-ago period.