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Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Diversifying Order Book To Highlight Secured Assets

It’s been a conscious strategy to bring on larger colour of the secured book—largely led by affordable housing and MSME, CEO says.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Entrance Bengaluru. (Source: BloombergQuint)
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Entrance Bengaluru. (Source: BloombergQuint)

WATCH | Ujjivan Small Finance Bank’s CEO Nitin Chugh on the firm’s Q3 results

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltd. is gradually modifying its order book to highlight its secured assets, according to its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Nitin Chugh.

“We have been systematically diversifying our asset book, and it’s been a conscious strategy to bring on a larger colour of the secured book—largely led by affordable housing and MSME,” Chugh told BloombergQuint on Thursday. “Those businesses have scaled up rather rapidly because the businesses were much smaller.”

The CEO’s comment came a day after Ujjivan Small Finance Bank announced its December quarter results—its first quarterly update since listing on Dec. 12, 2019.

The company’s net profit rose 98 percent year-on-year to Rs 89.7 crore in the third quarter of 2019-20, on the back of net interest income that rose 52.1 percent to Rs 426.5 crore.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Q3 Results: Key Highlights (YoY)

  • Net Interest Income rose 52.1 percent to Rs 426.5 crore
  • Net profit rose 98 percent to Rs 89.7 crore
  • Provisions were at Rs 30.5 crore vs Rs 7 crore. (Rs 24.8 crore QoQ)
  • Gross NPA at 0.95 percent versus 0.85 percent (QoQ)
  • Net NPA at 0.38 percent versus 0.33 percent (QoQ)

Also Read: Ujjivan Eyes Small Businesses Amid Retreat by Shadow Bankers

The marginal increment in the gross non-performing assets of the lender is on account of the cess in Assam, even though it has added nearly Rs 5 crore for that portfolio, Chugh said. “We don’t have too much of an exposure in Assam, about 1.5 percent in the impacted areas or even less than that.”

On Thursday, the lender’s shares rose 4.48 percent to Rs 53.65 apiece on the NSE while the benchmark Nifty 50 gained 0.60 percent to end the day at 12,179.90 points.