Sundaram Finance Ltd (SFL) posted a 16 per cent rise in standalone net profit to ₹349 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, compared to ₹300 crore in the same period last year. The growth was driven by a higher operating profit on the back of a strong increase in interest income.

The company’s board declared an interim dividend of ₹14 per share (140 per cent) for FY25.

The Chennai-based non-banking financial company (NBFC) reported a 24 per cent rise in interest income to ₹1,478 crore in Q3 FY25, up from ₹1,195 crore a year ago. Total income grew 23 per cent to ₹1,664 crore from ₹1,352 crore in the corresponding quarter.

Harsha Viji, Executive Vice-Chairman, noted that economic activity during the festival season in Q3 was below expectations. However, the company delivered a 19 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in assets under management (AUM) to ₹50,199 crore, with an improvement in asset quality — net stage 3 assets declined to 0.97 per cent from 1.02 per cent last year and profits from operations grew by 22 per cent YoY.

Disbursements in Q3 FY25 increased by 19 per cent to ₹7,764 crore from ₹6,524 crore in the year-ago period.

Strong quarter

“It has been a strong quarter despite a relatively muted Q3 for the industry. We gained market share across nearly all asset classes, leading to a 19 per cent growth in disbursements. Our asset quality continues to improve, even as the collections environment tightens. Operating profits, excluding dividends and one-time gains, grew by 22 per cent,” said Rajiv Lochan, Managing Director.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2024, net profit rose 5 per cent to ₹997 crore from ₹948 crore in the same period last year. Interest income was up at ₹4,148 crore (from ₹3,283 crore), while disbursements grew 8 per cent to ₹21,532 crore (from ₹19,954 crore).

Gross and net non-performing assets (NPA) improved to 2.46 per cent and 1.62 per cent, respectively, from 2.61 per cent and 1.82 per cent as of December 31, 2023. The company’s asset management business reported an AUM of ₹76,038 crore, with over 80 per cent in equity. Consolidated profit from the asset management segment stood at ₹107 crore, up from ₹74 crore in 9M FY24. Royal Sundaram, the insurance arm, posted a Gross Written Premium (GWP) of ₹2,965 crore, a 6 per cent increase from ₹2,792 crore in the previous year. However, profit after tax declined to ₹134 crore in 9M FY25 from ₹178 crore in 9M FY24.