Bajaj Finance Q1 net up 53% on higher loan growth

Pune-based non-banking finance company Bajaj Finance on Tuesday reported a 53% year-on-year jump in the first quarter net profit at Rs 139 crore, bolstered by higher rate of loan disbursals that grew 32% to about Rs 4,730 crore from a year ago.

Net interest income (NII) or the difference between interest earned and paid out, ramped up 41% to Rs 440 crore. The NBFC chose to expand its consumer finance book (wherein credit is given to affluent class to buy white good products as well as two/three wheeler and personal loans) at a faster pace of 48% y-o-y. While the SME loans grew 45%, the company brought down exposure to commercial segment (including construction equipments, infrastructure loans and vendor financing).

Total asset under management stood at around 14,500 crore, a whopping rise of 60% y-o-y. The asset expansion however did not come at the cost of quality. Its non-performing assets (NPAs) improved at least, on a y-o-y basis.

In the April-June quarter, the net NPA ratio dropped to 0.10% as compared with 0.46% during the corresponding period of the previous year. This was the lowest in the last five years, according to a company release. Its loan losses and provisions fell from Rs 34 crore in Q1, FY12 to Rs 32 crore in Q1, FY13.

However, the company did not mention net NPA ratio on sequential (quarter-on-quarter) basis.

At 13:30 hours IST, Bajaj Finance shares were trading at Rs 975, up 1.21% after hitting a 52-week high of Rs 1,010.

saikat.das@network18online.com