Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd on Monday reported a 23.6% year-on-year increase in its standalone net profit for the December quarter to Rs1,595.90 crore, largely led by higher other income and lower tax expenses. Sequentially, however, net profit declined 7.5%.

Asset quality weakened during the quarter, with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) increasing 31.1% year-on-year to Rs5,413.20 crore. Gross NPAs as a percentage of advances for the quarter was at 2.46% compared with 2.32% a quarter ago and 2.07% a year ago. The bank added fresh bad loans worth Rs1,062 crore of which one-third is constituted by corporate loan accounts.

Provisions and contingencies of the lender stood at Rs444 crore during October-December, up 8.5% from Rs407.93 crore in the last quarter. The bank's provision coverage ratio stood at 64%.

The private lender’s net interest income (NII) rose 17.2% year-on-year to Rs3,429.53 crore during October-December. On a quarterly basis, NII rose 2.4%. The bank's loan book growth at multi year low of 10% year-on-year at Rs2.16 lakh crore mainly due to slowdown in commercial vehicle and construction equipment.