IDFC First Bank Q2FY27: consol PAT ₹1,049 Cr, +3x YoY off weak base, -9% QoQ

IDFC First Bank's consolidated net profit came in at ₹1,049 Cr for Q2 FY27 (standalone ₹1,045 Cr), up ~202% year-on-year from a depressed ₹348 Cr in Q2 FY26, but down 8.6% sequentially from Q1 FY27's record ₹1,148 Cr (standalone -2.8%, from ₹1,075 Cr). Interest earned (revenue) grew a more modest 20.0% YoY and 7.9% QoQ to ₹11,923 Cr consolidated. The headline YoY jump is a base effect, not fresh acceleration: Q2 FY26's profit was itself depressed by elevated provisioning against the bank's microfinance (JLG) book, so the comparison flatters an underlying business that is normalising rather than re-accelerating. Standalone PAT of ₹1,045 Cr did beat the ₹900–950 Cr band we flagged pre-result, by roughly 10-16%; a web search for a separate published Q2 consensus PAT figure turned up nothing beyond our own pre-result expectation range, so that band is the best available Street anchor. Margins cooled from Q1's peak: operating profit margin fell to 17.9% of total income from 23.8% in Q1 (versus 18.9% a year ago, so YoY is roughly flat), and net profit margin eased to 7.4% from 8.6% QoQ. The squeeze sits mainly on costs rather than credit: standalone operating expenses grew 15.9% YoY, outrunning management's own 13-14% FY27 opex guidance from the Q1 call. Credit quality continued to improve — standalone gross/net NPAs fell to 1.32%/0.40% from 1.51%/0.44% QoQ and 1.86%/0.52% YoY, with provisions down 21.7% YoY to ₹1,137 Cr and running at an annualised pace inside the 150-160bps credit-cost guidance. Annualised ROA eased to 0.93% from 1.05% in Q1, trailing the ~1% full-year ROA target management flagged after Q1's 'kissing distance' quarter; NIM, guided to ~5.8% for FY27 (from 5.75%, and last disclosed at 5.96% in Q1), is not broken out in this filing and could not be confirmed for Q2. The quarter's corporate developments support the growth side of the story: the bank's Oct 5 provisional update showed loans up 20.4% YoY and deposits up 17% YoY, squarely within the 20-21%/17-18% growth ranges flagged in our pre-result preview, helped by $3.57B of NRI deposits mobilised via the FCNR(B) window in early September. The board also approved a fresh 98-lakh ESOP grant on Oct 21 and confirmed Shyamal Malhotra's appointment to senior management on Sep 22. No standalone management press release or commentary was available at filing time to cross-check against the Street's framing of this print. Net effect: loan and deposit growth are holding near guided levels and asset quality keeps improving, but profitability did not extend Q1's record — PAT and margins both eased sequentially, and cost growth is running ahead of guidance even as credit cost runs inside it. The Oct 24 earnings call is where management will need to address whether Q1 was the near-term peak or Q2 is a normal pause, and whether NIM is still tracking toward the 5.8% FY27 target.