Kotak Mahindra Bank net flat

Annual net profit, on consolidated basis, rose by 13% to Rs 2,464.99 cr for 2013-14 as against Rs 2,188.46 cr for 2012-13

Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank reported a net profit of Rs 663 crore on a consolidated basis for the quarter ended March 2014 as compared to Rs 666 crore during the same period of the previous financial year.

While profit from subsidiaries improved, net profit on a standalone basis declined during the period under review, resulting in flat growth on a consolidated basis.

On a standalone basis, net profit for the period under review was Rs 407 crore as compared to Rs 436 crore, down 6.7 per cent.

Uday Kotak, executive vice-chairman and managing director, said the fall in profit in the fourth quarter was due to mark-to-market provisions of Rs 43 crore for investments and higher tax rate.

The annual net profit, on consolidated basis, rose by 13 per cent to Rs 2,465 crore for 2013-14 as against Rs 2,188 crore for 2012-13. The bank declared dividend of Rs 0.80 per share of face value Rs 5 each for 2013-14.

The loan book of the bank grew by nine per cent to Rs 53,028 crore at end of March 2014, up from Rs 48,469 crore on March 31, 2013. The bank is aiming at growth of 15-20 per cent in loans during 2014-15. The thrust will be on working capital loans to small and medium size units, agriculture lending and mid-corporates.

Kotak said the bank had been very cautious on extending loans to the infrastructure sector, construction equipment and the commercial vehicle segment. The pickup in the CV segment was expected around October, he said.

Deposits grew by 16 per cent to Rs 59,072 crore. The share of low cost deposits – current accounts and saving accounts (CASA) – improved to 32 per cent in March 2014 from 29 per cent a year ago. It expects to increase their CASA by one to two per cent in near term.

The bank will add about 150 branches to network in FY15 to take tally to 750 and raise it further to above 1,000 by 2016. It opened 200 branches in FY14.

Both gross and net non-performing assets of the bank fell in Q4 as compared to the previous quarter. Its gross NPA ratio, as on March 31 was 1.98 per cent as compared to 2.01 per cent as on end December 2013.

Its consolidated capital adequacy was 18.87 per cent with Tier I pegged at 18 per cent. The strong capital base puts the bank in a position of strength for credit expansion when demand picks up, Kotak added.