PNB Housing Finance net profit down 9.6% due to six-year low disbursements

The total disbursements in the June quarter stood at Rs 694 crore, which was 90% lower than Rs 7,634 disbursed in the same quarter last year.

Punjab National Bank-promoted PNB Housing Finance on Thursday reported a 9.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 257.2 crore for the June quarter due to lower disbursements amid Covid-19 pandemic.

Neeraj Vyas, managing director and chief executive officer said, “During the quarter, the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on disbursements, resulting in the lowest quarterly disbursements in more than 24 quarters.” The total disbursements in the June quarter stood at Rs 694 crore, which was 90% lower than Rs 7,634 disbursed in the same quarter last year.

“However, with all our branches now operational, we are witnessing an increasing trend in disbursement on a month-on-month basis,” Vyas said.

In line with industry, the company also saw decline in the number of customers opting for moratorium. “As on June 30, approximately 39% of company’s assets under management (AUM) have opted for moratorium, which has reduced substantially from 56% in Phase 1,” PNB Housing Finance said. Retail loans under moratorium accounted for 29% of the retail AUMs, which have also reduced from 49% in Phase 1, the company said.

The asset under management (AUM) stood at Rs 83,495 crore as on June, up 5% y-o-y from Rs 88,333 crore in the year-ago period. The net interest income in the June quarter stood at Rs 487.8 crore, down 22% y-o-y, compared with Rs 625.5 crore. The net interest margin for the quarter was down 48 basis points (bps) y-o-y to 2.66%.

The asset quality saw some deterioration in the quarter under review. Gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) increased 191 bps y-o-y to 2.76%. The net NPAs stood at 1.67% of loan assets as on June 30, against 0.65% as on June 30, 2019 and 1.75% as on March 2020.

On the strategy for the current financial year, Neeraj Vyas said, “During the year, company will continue its focus on recovery, liquidity, sell down of the corporate book, cost rationalisation and strengthen its balance sheet by further reduction in gearing.”