Bajaj Fin Q3 net up 58% at Rs 120cr on higher loan growth

Pune-based Bajaj Finance , a non-banking financial company (NBFC), on Wednesday posted a robust 58% year-on-year growth in net profit to Rs 120 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2011 on the back of healthy loan book expansion. Net interest income or the difference between interests earned and paid out rose by 39% to Rs 396 crore.  The Q3 numbers are broadly above analysts’ expectation.

The company’s asset under management (AUM) ballooned by 74% Y-o-Y to Rs 11,919 crore. During the three months period loan deployments shot up by 68% to Rs 4,649 crore. Its commercial segment (including construction equipments, infrastructure loans and vendor financing) scaled up by a whopping 116% to Rs 1,260 crore. The consumer loans (including white goods, two/three wheeler and personal loans) grew 48% y-o-y to Rs 2,149.

It is learnt that the company’s short term infra loan book grew more than two-fold from Rs 260 crore to Rs 541 crore. Bajaj Finance had launched this product at the beginning of the current fiscal year.

The overall credit growth of the company (though at a lower base) assumed significance at a time when the entire industry is experiencing a slower credit offtake.

Meanwhile, the company managed to improve its asset quality. Its net non-performing asset (NPA) ratio stood at 0.25% in Q3 as against 0.33% in Q2 in FY12. “The net NPA for Q3 FY12 is the lowest for the company in the last five years,” said a release issued by the finance arm of the Bajaj group.

Consequently, loan losses and provisions too came down to Rs 36 crore compared with Rs 44 crore in the July-September quarter.

Adding more focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) the NBFC launched a new product christened as “flexisaver”.

“The product allows the customer flexibility to ‘draw when they want’ and ‘pay when they want’ without charges. The company continues to not charge any of its customers any pre-payments or part pre-payment charges,” said the release.

Bajaj Finance shares rose more than 4% to Rs 677 in the afternoon trade in the NSE.

Also read:  Bajaj Finance aims Rs 13,000 cr AUM in FY12

saikat.das@network18online.com