Axis Bank on Monday reported a sharp 62% year-on-year (YoY) growth in net profit for the quarter ended December to Rs 5,853 crore. The net profit was way higher than ET Now poll of Rs 5,500 crore. Net interest income grew 32.4% YoY to Rs 11,459 crore. Net interest income is the difference between interest earned and interest expended. The beat in the bottomline was despite a rise in the lender's provisions. Provisions and contingencies in the quarter rose nearly 8% YoY to Rs 1,438 crore. However, the private sector lender’s asset quality improved both YoY and sequentially during the quarter. Gross non-performing assets ratio as a percentage of total loans was down at 2.38% from 3.17% a year ago and 2.50% a quarter ago.