Bandhan Bank Q2 FY27: PAT turnaround to ₹622 Cr (+456% YoY) as provisions normalize

Bandhan Bank's standalone PAT for Q2 FY27 came in at ₹621.75 Cr, up 456% YoY from a depressed ₹111.87 Cr base and up 24% QoQ from ₹501.67 Cr. This comfortably beats the ₹480–520 Cr our pre-result preview flagged as the on-plan expectation — a clear street beat, with Street consensus (per that preview) also pencilling in FY27 EPS of ₹17.20, a target this quarter's ₹3.86 basic EPS (vs ₹0.69 YoY, ₹3.11 QoQ) keeps the bank on pace for. No fresh post-print brokerage estimates were available at filing time to cross-check further. The print is a provisioning story, not an operating one: pre-provision operating profit rose a far more modest 19% YoY to ₹1,556 Cr, while provisions & contingencies fell to ₹718 Cr from ₹1,153 Cr a year ago as asset quality healed — gross NPA improved to 3.1% from 5.0% and net NPA to 0.9% from 1.4% YoY, with the EEB (microfinance) book's collection efficiency at 99.3% and sequential improvement across SMA buckets. That shows up squarely in margins: net profit margin expanded sharply to 9.6% from 1.9% YoY (8.1% QoQ), while operating profit margin was essentially flat at 24.1% (24.5% YoY, 24.1% QoQ) — confirming the core banking spread did not drive the beat, the credit-cost normalization did. Revenue (interest earned) grew a steadier 7.5% YoY/2.2% QoQ to ₹5,753.56 Cr, and net interest income rose 14% YoY to ₹2,960 Cr. Against management's own prior guidance, the quarter is on track rather than ahead of plan: half-year NIM held at 6.2%, exactly matching what was guided despite flagged deposit-repricing pressure; credit growth came in at 13% YoY (secured advances +18%, now 57% of the book vs 55% a year ago) against a 14% FY27 target, with EEB growth at just 2% YoY lagging the 5–10% guided band; and half-year RoA (annualised) stands at 1.1%, still below the 1.2–1.4% band management is targeting by Q4FY27-exit, though PAT's sequential climb (₹502 Cr → ₹622 Cr) points the right direction. Capital adequacy stayed strong at 18.32% against an 11.5% requirement. Corporate-action noise this quarter — the interim CFO appointment (Sep 25), 18.75 lakh ESOP grant, and twin denials of First Abu Dhabi Bank acquisition talk and promoter-stake-sale rumours — shows no visible dent in these numbers. MD & CEO Partha Pratim Sengupta framed the quarter as reflecting 'healthy business growth, accelerating deposit mobilisation, improving the composition of our loan portfolio, protecting asset quality and steadily strengthening profitability' — consistent with the secured-book mix shift and the NPA improvement seen in the results, though the RoA and EEB-growth gaps versus guidance temper the 'steadily strengthening' framing to one of gradual, not yet complete, normalization.