Bajaj Finserv Ltd’s consolidated net profit fell by 29 per cent to Rs 707 crore for fourth quarter ended March 2014 as its life insurance arm was hit by slowdown in the sector.
Its income from operations for reporting the quarter was flat at Rs 2,050 crore as against Rs 2,015 crore in January-March 2013.
The net profit for FY14 declined to Rs 1,544 crore from Rs 1,573 crore for FY13. The board recommended a dividend of 35 per cent (Rs 1.75 per share) for 2013-14 as against 30 per cent for 2012-13.
“Despite serious economic headwinds, FY14 has been a relatively good year for Company”, said its managing director Sanjiv Bajaj said.
Bajaj Finance Ltd, its lending unit, reported rise in net profit in Q4 to Rs 182 crore from Rs 164 crore in Q4 of 2012-13. The assets under management went up at Rs 24,061 crore in March 2014 from Rs 17,517 crore in March 2013.
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited (BALIC) saw drop in shareholders profit to Rs 688 crore in Q4 from Rs 1,023 crore.
FY14 continued to see challenges in the life insurance industry. Some of these were on account of the poor economic environment, lack of growth across sectors and product changes promulgated by IRDA, which led to a negative growth for private players in the second half of FY14, Bajaj said.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Ltd’s net profit in Q4 rose to Rs 101 crore from Rs 62 crore in same quarter of 2012-13.
