Kotak Mahindra Bank’s 67% Profit Jump Beats Expectations

India’s Kotak Mahindra Bank beat expectations on Saturday with a 67% year-on-year rise in quarterly net profit, helped by higher net interest income and robust loan growth.

The Mumbai-based private lender’s standalone net profit rose to 34.52 billion rupees ($421.1 million) in the three-months ending June 30, above analysts’ average estimate of 32.4 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data.

Kotak’s net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid out, increased 33% to 62.34 billion rupees.

Its net interest margin (NIM) grew to 5.57%, compared with 4.92% in the year-earlier period but was lower than 5.75% reported in the January-March quarter.

Going forward, the bank’s NIM “will keep moderating” as cost of funds keep moving up, Dipak Gupta, joint managing director said at a virtual press briefing.

Margins will come back to the “normal” 5-5.25% range “over a period of time,” he added.

Kotak Mahindra Bank’s loans grew 19%, while deposits rose just over 22%.

India’s banks have continued to report double-digit credit growth in recent months owing to strong loan demand. Lenders have shored up their deposit base amid tightened liquidity conditions.

The strong credit growth has helped private banks such as HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank report double-digit profit growth for the April-June quarter.

Kotak Mahindra Bank’s asset quality was largely stable during the quarter.

Its gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio was at 1.77% at the end of June, versus 1.78% at the end of March, while the net NPA ratio was 0.40%, compared with 0.37% at the end of the prior three months.

Provisions and contingencies, net of recoveries made against loan accounts written off as bad, stood at 3.64 billion rupees for the quarter. Its provision coverage was 78%.

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