Bajaj Finance profit rises on strong loan growth

Consumer financing giant Bajaj Finance’s net profit increased one and a half times to Rs 2596 crore in the quarter ended June 2022 from Rs 1002 crore a year ago on the back of strong loan growth loans especially in the consumer and rural segments.

The company’s assets under management (AUM) grew by 28% to Rs 2.04 lakh crore at the end of June 2022 from Rs 1.59 lakh crore a year ago. New loans booked during the first quarter increased 60% to 7.42 million from 4.63 million a year ago.

The company recorded highest ever quarterly increase in its customer franchise of 2.73 million during the quarter. Strong loan growth meant that the company’s net interest income (NII), or the difference the interest earned on loans and that paid for funds, increased 48% to Rs 6,638 crore from Rs 4,489 crore a year ago.

Consumer, business to business sales finance book increased 47% to Rs 16,475 while the consumer finance book, the largest for the company increased 31% to Rs 41,207 crore. SME lending the second largest book for the company increased 31% to Rs 26,564 crore.

A 57% drop in provisions for loan losses also helped the company. Provisions fell to Rs 755 crore from Rs 1,750 crore a year ago. The company holds excess provision of Rs 1000 crore at the end of June. Net NPAs dropped to 0.51% from 1.46% a year ago. The company has provisioning coverage ratio (PCR) of 60%.