Bajaj Finance Hits Lifetime High After Earnings Beat, QIP Nod
Bajaj Finance posted a net profit of Rs 602 crore during the first quarter of FY18.
Pune-based Bajaj Finance Ltd. reported a 42 percent jump in first quarter net profit led by strong growth in its core business.
The non-banking finance company’s (NBFC) net interest income rose over 49 percent on a year on year basis to Rs 2,087 crore. The net profit for the quarter stood at Rs 602 crore, better than the Rs 578 crore estimated by analysts polled by Bloomberg.
The board of Bajaj Finance board approved the raising up to Rs 4,500 crore via Qualified Institutional Placement route.
AUM BreakUp
Bajaj Finance’s assets under management (AUM) grew nearly 39 percent during the quarter, driven by strong growth in its commercial and rural verticals. The NBFC’s small and medium enterprises business, which accounts for a third of the AUM, grew 17 percent during the quarter.
Steady Asset Quality
On the asset quality front, the NBFC’s gross non-performing assets stood at 1.7 percent of total advances, while net non-performing assets were at 0.53 percent as on June 30, largely unchanged from that in the March-ended quarter despite changing the NPA recognition policy. During the quarter, based on regulatory requirements, the company changed its classification of bad loans to those that are overdue for 90 days rather than the earlier 120 days.
Provisions remained nearly unchanged at Rs 285 crore. The company continued to make additional provisions, evidenced by an additional charge of Rs 42 crore across customer and infrastructure finance businesses. In the previous quarter, the lender had made additional provisions of Rs 70 crore primarily on account of demonetisation.
Shares of Bajaj Finance rose as much as 4.3 percent to Rs 1,577 – a new intraday all-time high for the stock.