 "Ugro Capital shares surge 4% after patent win on credit scoring model")
Shares of the non banking finance company (NBFC) Ugro Capital surged up to 4.4 per cent at Rs 9.78 per share on the BSE. The stock price moved up after the company said that it has bagged a patent for its new credit scoring model – ‘Gro Score’.
The MSME focussed lender said that now in its third iteration, GRO Score 3.0 integrates advanced statistical algorithms to evaluate creditworthiness. To date, the model has assessed over 1.7 lakh loan applications, analyzing over 5.6 lakh bureau records, 2.3 lakh bank statements, and 80,000 GST reports, unlocking vital capital for MSMEs across India
“MSMEs contribute nearly one-third of India’s GDP yet face significant credit access challenges due to traditional lenders’ dependency on collateral and income-based assessments. UGRO Capital addresses this issue with GRO Score, a cutting-edge credit evaluation model leveraging alternate data, such as repayment histories, banking transactions, and GST records, to provide a comprehensive assessment of borrowers without formal income documentation,” the company said in a statement.
In the recently concluded second quarter of financial year 2024-25 (Q2FY25), Ugro Capital reported strong financial growth for the first half of the financial year 2024-25 (H1FY25), with total income rising 37 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 644 crore, and Q2FY25 income at Rs 343 crore, reflecting a 35 per cent Y-o-Y increase and 14 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) growth.
The company's profit after tax (PAT) for H1FY25 surged 22 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 66 crore, while Q2 FY25 PAT reached Rs 36 crore, marking a 23 per cent Y-o-Y and 17 per cent Q-o-Q increase. Net disbursements for H1 FY25 stood at Rs 3,118 crore, up 13 per cent, with Q2 disbursements reaching Rs 1,971 crore, up 72 per cent Q-o-Q.
Ugro Capital maintained strong asset quality, with Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) and Net Non-Performing Assets (NNPA) at 2.1 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively, of total assets under management (AUM), which stood at Rs 10,157 crore as of September 2024.
The company has a total market capitalisation of Rs 2,328.56 crore. Its shares are trading at a price to earnings multiple of 17.48 times and at an earning per share of Rs 14.10.
At 1:00 PM; the shares of the company were trading 1.64 per cent higher at Rs 250.50 a piece. By comparison, the BSE Sensex was up 0.03 per cent at 81,535.17 level.