Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Q4 profit rises 32% to Rs696 crore

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, on Wednesday, reported a 32% rise in net profit for the January-March quarter, owing to an increase in net interest income (NII).

The bank’s net profit for the fourth quarter rose to Rs.695.78 crore, as compared with Rs.527.14 crore a year ago.

NII, or the difference between interest earned on loans and that expended on deposits, during the quarter was at Rs.1,857.24 crore, up 65% from Rs.1,123.17 crore a year ago. The increase in NII was primarily due to the merger of ING Vysya Bank with Kotak Mahindra Bank, which became effective on 1 April 2015.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, NII rose 5.15% from Rs.1,766 crore in the October-December period.

Total advances as on 31 March stood at Rs.1,18,665 crore, up 79% from Rs.66,161 crore a year ago. It rose by nearly 3% on a quarter-on-quarter basis. Deposits rose to Rs.1,38,643 crore in the same period, up 85% year-on-year and 6% higher from the preceding quarter.

The private sector lender reported other income worth Rs.682 crore, higher than Rs.668 crore reported in the previous year. Net interest margin (NIM) dropped to 4.35% in the January-March period as compared with 4.76% a year ago. In the October-December period, NIM was at 4.4%.

Kotak Mahindra Bank’s asset quality during the quarter deteriorated marginally as gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio for the January-March period was at 2.36%, as compared with 2.3% in the October-December quarter. The bank had reported a gross NPA ratio of 1.85% in January-March 2015.

Provisions for bad loans fell to Rs.200 crore in the fourth quarter as compared with Rs.232.25 crore in the quarter ended 31 December.

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 1.34% to Rs.731.15 on BSE, while the exchange’s benchmark Sensex fell 0.68% to 25,597.02 points.

Kotak Mahindra Group