The private lender reported a profit of Rs 1,682.7 crore for the quarter against loss of Rs 112.1 crore in the same period a year ago.
Brokerages said the asset quality is better than what they feared and were enthused by the better-than-expected pre-provisioning operating profit.
Jefferies, Motilal Oswal, CLSA, IDBI Capital and Kotak Institutional Equities have maintained buy ratings while Credit Suisse maintained outperform rating. JP Morgan upgraded the stock to overweight and Emkay to buy.
“Axis Bank’s (Axis) 2QFY21 results were reassuring with a strong beat on core PPOP (up 20% YoY) and asset quality commentary which indicates Covid-19 related stress is manageable and the bank’s non-NPA provisions at 1.8% of loans should cover the majority of the expected stress,” said CLSA.
Credit Suisse said Axis Bank continues to be among the best positioned with capital and relatively low asset quality stress.
