July 13, 2011 / 16:23 IST
With fuel price hikes and inflation dampening demand for commercial and passenger vehicles, non-banking finance company Sundaram Finance today said it aims for "modest" growth in loan disbursements this fiscal.
The Chennai-headquartered company reported a net profit of Rs 295.23 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011, as against Rs 226.74 crore in the previous year.
"We have been growing by 30% every year. This year, we are expecting a 10% growth in passenger car business and 5-8% in commercial vehicle business," Sundaram Finance Managing Director T T Srinivasaraghavan told reporters here today.
He hoped that the company would retain its market share of 11% in the current financial year.
Sundaram Finance made disbursements worth Rs 7,478 crore last fiscal. The company's shareholders approved a final dividend of Rs 7 per share for the financial year.
Earlier, at the 58th Annual General Meeting of the company, Sundaram Finance Chairman S Viji said, "After two successive years of high growth, sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles were almost flat in the first three months of the current financial year, compared to the corresponding
period in the previous year."
"The increase in vehicle and diesel prices (and) higher interest rates do not bode well for the road transport sector and are likely to have an impact on commercial vehicle sales,"he said.
As part of their annual funding plan, Srinivasaraghavan said the company may raise about Rs 1,500-2000 crore this financial year through debt resources.
"It is part of our annual growth plans. We can raise them through our debt resources," he said.
Asked about the expansion plans of their joint venture, Sundaram BNP Paribas, he said it had recently opened offices in Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata and Nasik.
"We are looking at strengthening our operations in the South. The demand from the South is huge," he said.
On their home finance business, Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance Managing Director Srinivas Acharya said they are eyeing Rs 1,800 crore business this year and were well on "track" to achieve the target.
Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance has 40 branches across the country, with the majority of the business contributed by Tamil Nadu (50%), Andhra Pradesh (25%), Kerala (14%) and Karnataka (11%).
It reported a 72% growth in profit after tax to Rs 47.68 crore for the fiscal ended March 31, 2011, as against Rs 27.72 crore in the previous financial year. Its loan portfolio stood at Rs 2,653 crore as of March 31, 2011, as against Rs 1,981 crore in the previous year.
