The private sector lender Axis Bank has announced its financials for the October - December period. During this period, the bank has achieved a 22 percent increase in its net profits, with its profits currently standing at Rs. 1347 crore. Last year for the same quarter, the bank had recorded net profits of Rs. 1102 crore.

The reason behind the increase in bank's profitability is said to be a growth in its retail loans segment along with a decrease in its provisioning.

The bank has reported a 17 percent hike in its net interest income, which is currently standing at Rs. 2495 crore, as opposed to year-ago figure of Rs. 2140 crore. Other incomes, such as trading income and fee, also increased by 13 percent, and was recorded at Rs. 1620 crore.

For Q3, the Mumbai based bank's net provisioning and contingencies decreased by 8 percent and were recorded at Rs. 387 crore. But, the bank's net interest margin reduced to 3.57 percent. However, its net advances and retail assets increased by 21 percent and 45 percent year-on-year respectively.

On the occasion, the bank's Executive Director, Mr. Somnath Sengupta said, "It is a conscious decision to pursue retail loan growth...We will continue to see growth, especially in the home loans, loan against property and personal loan segments."