Kotak Mahindra Bank Q2 profit rises nearly 15 per cent

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd posted a 14.8 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit on Wednesday, boosted by higher interest and fee income, but missed analysts’ expectations.

Net profit rose to 11.42 billion rupees ($155.84 million) for the quarter ended Sept 30, missing analysts’ average estimate of 11.65 billion rupees, according to I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv.

Asset quality was stable, with gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans standing at 2.15 per cent at end-September, compared with 2.17 per cent a quarter earlier and 2.47 per cent a year earlier.

Interest earned climbed 22.1 per cent to 58.11 billion rupees, with loans as of end-September growing 21 per cent, the Mumbai-based private sector lender said in a statement.

Net interest margin or the difference between interest paid and earned, a key gauge of profitability, fell to 4.2 per cent from 4.33 per cent a year earlier.

Kotak shares fell as much as 0.9 per cent after the results.