L&T Finance Holdings Q2 net up 42% to Rs 248 cr despite higher provisioning

Provision coverage ratio rises to 69% from 54% a year ago

L&T Finance Holdings (LTFH) Ltd’s net profit, at consolidated level, rose by 42 per cent rise at Rs 247.7 crore in the second quarter ended September 2020 despite accelerated provisions. It had posted a profit after tax of Rs 174.5 crore in second quarter of last year (Q2Fy21).

The total income was down to Rs 3,508.9 crore in reporting quarter from Rs 3,711.8 crore in Q2FY20.   

The Net Interest Margin (NIM) plus Fees stood at 6.49 per cent in Q2FY21 lower than 6.86 per cent for Q2FY20. With normalcy returning, NIMs plus Fees have reached the desired range of 6.5-7 per cent despite carrying a negative carry of Rs. 64 crore on additional liquidity, company said in a statement.

The company's stock closed two per cent higher at Rs 64.35 per share on BSE. Its capital adequacy ratio stood at 21.37 per cent at end of September 2020.

As a prudent measure, the company made additional provisions of Rs 512 crore in Q2FY21 to strengthen the balance sheet. The provision coverage ratio (PCR) rose to 69 per cent in Q2Fy21 from 54 per cent in Q2FY20.

Dinanath Dubhashi, Managing Director & CEO, LTFH, said, as anticipated, Q2 saw a revival in the rural economy. In Q2, Rural business witnessed significant growth momentum. There was also pick up in disbursements in renewable energy portfolio.

While total book shrunk by one per cent to Rs 1,00,258 crore at end of September 2020, the rural finance portfolio expended by seven per cent to Rs 28,371 crore in September 2020.