J&K Bank Q2FY27: PAT +10.6% YoY (~6% adjusted) to ₹553cr as provisions normalise

J&K Bank's consolidated PAT (primary basis) rose 10.6% YoY to ₹552.7 Cr for Q2 FY27 (standalone: ₹546.4 Cr, also +10.6% YoY), against a 13.2% YoY rise in interest earned to ₹3,728.8 Cr. Profit jumped 28.7% QoQ from Q1 FY27's ₹425.3 Cr, but that sequential move overstates momentum — Q1 was itself a soft base (PAT had fallen ~11.5% YoY in that quarter) and this quarter carries a ₹28.9 Cr pre-tax prior-period gain. Stripping that one-off out, adjusted YoY PAT growth is closer to 6%, a steadier read than the reported number suggests.

Pre-provision operating profit grew a much stronger 26.7% YoY to ₹790.4 Cr, widening the operating margin to 21.2% of interest earned from 18.9% a year ago, as revenue growth outpaced interest and operating expenses. That operating strength did not fully flow to the bottom line: provisions swung from a ₹10.9 Cr net write-back in Q2 FY26 to a ₹72.3 Cr charge this quarter (₹83.1 Cr of it NPA-related), and the effective tax rate rose to 23.8% from 22.0%, compressing net margin to 13.5% of total income from 14.3% a year ago. A separate accounting-policy change on PSLC expense recognition (Note 18) added ₹37.5 Cr to half-year PAT — a second item flattering this half's numbers.

The stock went into the print at ₹136.83, down 6.2% over the past month of trading.

For context: revenue is at a 6-quarter high.

Balance-sheet growth outpaced management's own FY27 guidance: consolidated advances rose 24.8% YoY to ₹1,31,202 Cr against a guided 18–20%, and deposits grew 16.3% YoY to ₹1,76,776 Cr against a reaffirmed ~10% target — consistent with the bank's October 3 disclosure of 19.4% YoY provisional business growth to ₹3,10,347 Cr. Asset quality also met target, with gross NPA at 2.23% versus management's <2.25% FY27 ceiling (2.37% in Q1). Profitability lags the growth story: annualised standalone ROA was 1.07%, up from 0.87% in Q1 but still short of the 1.25%+ FY27 goal, and NIM — guided at 3.5% against Q1's 3.28% — is not separately disclosed in this filing. No reliable street consensus specific to this quarter could be confirmed; some web results referenced profit figures that could not be reconciled to this filing, so vsStreet is left unknown rather than guessed. Standalone and consolidated PAT growth are closely aligned (both +10.6% YoY), so there is no material basis divergence to flag. Separately, the bank completed the sale of its PNB MetLife stake for ₹120.1 Cr on October 16 and saw director Dr. Mandeep K Bhandari resign on October 13 — both after the September 30 quarter-end and outside this P&L.