Kotak Mahindra Bank Q4 Profits Spikes 25%; Board Recommends Dividend

Kotak Mahindra Bank reported a 25.24 percent rise in its standalone profit at Rs 1,407.80 crore for the quarter ending March 2019. A year ago, it posted a profit of Rs 1,124.05 crore.

In a stock exchange release on Tuesday afternoon, the lender also said that its board had recommended a dividend of Rs 0.80 per equity share. It is subject to approval from the share holders at the annual general meeting.

The bank's provisions and contingencies fell by 44 percent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 171.26 crore for the fourth quarter (Q4) of the financial year 2018-19. Its asset quality weakened as percentage of gross NPAs (non-performing assets) rose to 2.14 percent from 2.07 percent in the December 2018 quarter. In March 2018, gross NPAs stood at 2.22 percent.

Net interest income (NII) grew to Rs 3,048 crore from Rs 2,580 crore in the year-ago period. The bank's standalone operating profit was up by 13 percent to Rs 2,282.26 crore from Rs 2,017.95 crore in March 2018.

Share price of Kotak Mahindra Bank made a sudden plunge to Rs 1,351.05 apiece soon after the quarterly results were declared before recovering.