Edelweiss Q4 net up 40% at Rs 170 cr, annual retail credit growth at 46%

The company's board recommended 30% dividend per share of rupee one each for 2016-17

Edelweiss Financial Services posted a 40 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 170 crore in the fourth quarter (Q) ended March 2017, up from Rs 122 crore in Q4 of the financial year (FY) 2015-16.

While fees and commissions in Q4 of FY17 grew by 134 per cent to Rs 481 crore from Rs 205 crore in Q4FY16, the income from fund based activity grew marginally by 7.6 per cent at Rs 1,215 crore.

The net profit in FY17 rose by 47 per cent to Rs 609 crore from Rs 414 crore in FY16. The company's board recommended 30 per cent dividend per share of rupee one each for 2016-17.

Its total credit book, including distressed credit, stood at Rs 27,608 crore at the FY17-end. Out of which, retail credit stood at Rs 8,952 crore, up by 46 per cent from Rs 6,031 cr at the end of FY16.

Rashesh Shah, chairman and chief executive officer of Edelweiss Financial Services, said the retail loan book expected to grow by 45-50 per cent annually for some more years on the back of robust demand for housing and small business segment.

Its client base was 390,000 — 304,000 at the end of FY16 — till the year end. The retail credit consists of housing finance and SME. Th company's rural finance operates in 55 cities and 3,100 villages.

Referring to business prospects for distressed credit, Shah said, steps like giving more powers to the Reserve Bank of India for speedy resolution of stressed loans will give push to growth. The capital employed for this business should grow annually by 25-30 per cent for next three years.

The distressed credit business has a capital of Rs 4,781 crore and assets under management of Rs 39,500 crore by the end of FY17.