Kotak Q2 FY27: Consolidated PAT Up 26% YoY to ₹5,645 Cr as Margins Expand

Kotak Mahindra Bank's consolidated net profit rose 26.4% YoY to ₹5,645.38 Cr in Q2 FY27 (quarter ended September 30, 2026), with total income up 18.1% YoY to ₹29,426.88 Cr on interest earned of ₹19,855.87 Cr (+15.45% YoY). On a standalone basis — the more comparable base to prior guidance — net profit was ₹4,211.97 Cr, up 29.5% YoY, beating the ~22-25% YoY growth band flagged in our pre-result preview. Sequentially, consolidated PAT rose a modest 3.0% QoQ from ₹5,480.46 Cr in Q1 FY27; the YoY read is the primary one here and it is firmly positive. No exceptional items hit either statement this quarter, so the growth is clean. Margins expanded YoY: consolidated net profit margin (PAT-before-associates basis) rose to 19.14% from 17.85% a year ago, and operating margin (operating profit over interest earned) rose to 42.06% from 40.80%. Sequentially, operating margin eased from 45.08% in Q1 FY27 as operating expenses rose to ₹12,395.55 Cr (+13.6% QoQ, consolidated) and provisions ticked up — standalone provisions and contingencies climbed 20.3% QoQ to ₹803.56 Cr even as they remain 15.2% lower YoY. That QoQ provisioning build is directionally consistent with management's August 2026 concall guidance that credit costs would rise 12-15 bps on ECL implementation, though the filing discloses no standalone NIM figure to grade against the 3.8-4.0% watch range our preview flagged — management had declined to quantify NIM guidance last call, citing regulatory flux, and this result doesn't resolve that. Advances and deposits tracked the October 5 business update almost exactly: standalone net advances grew 24.77% YoY to ₹5,77,294.71 Cr and deposits grew 23.21% YoY to ₹6,51,491.47 Cr, confirming the momentum that drove Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Prabhudas Lilladher to raise price targets ahead of this print (consensus target ~₹515). Asset quality improved alongside growth: standalone gross NPA eased to 1.04% (from 1.18% in Q1 FY27, 1.39% a year ago) and net NPA fell to 0.24%. The quarter also closed with two structural items from our preview: Anup Kumar Saha's appointment as MD & CEO effective October 1, 2026, and board approval (September 25, 2026) of the KMIL-KAAML subsidiary merger, which the filing confirms has no impact on the Bank's own financials. No management press release or concall commentary was available in our records at extraction time, so management's own framing cannot yet be cross-checked against these numbers. Going into Q3 FY27, the open items are the NIM trajectory management still won't quantify, whether the QoQ step-up in provisions is the start of the guided ECL-driven credit-cost rise or a one-quarter blip, and how the new CEO frames guidance on the next call — his tone was explicitly flagged as a pre-result watch item and this filing predates any post-appointment commentary.