Axis Bank is the top loser on the BSE, going down over 6.5% to Rs.452.05 and it continues to remain firmly in the red.

The Bank reported a set of extremely disappointing numbers for Q3FY17. Its net profit plunged down by 73% (YoY) to Rs.580 crore and this was blamed on the slower-than-expected growth in net interest income (NII) and higher provisioning. The 75% (YoY) drop in tax outgo is surely what helped shore up the bottomline to where it is now. Other income or non-interest income also helped – it was up 45% at Rs.3400 crore.

NII rose by 4 to Rs.4334 crore and provisioning for bad loans rose over five times (YoY) and by 5% (QoQ) to Rs.3796 crore; the provision coverage sequentially thus rose from 64% to 60%.

Its asset quality also took a hit. Gross NPA rose from 4.17% to 5.22% (QoQ) and Net NPA rose from 2.02% to 2.18%. Net restructured assets fell 9% (QoQ) to Rs.6109 crore.