A drop in premium income from life insurance business saw financial services firm Bajaj Finserv today reporting a near flat growth in net profit at Rs 912.86 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31 from Rs 881 crore posted a year ago.
For the whole fiscal (FY'13), net profit increased by around 18% to Rs 1,574 crore compared to Rs 1,338 crore in FY'12.
"Our businesses like Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance had shown sound growth in the last fiscal. However, premium income in the life insurance business dipped to Rs 1,286 crore, which resulted in a marginal net income growth of only 3.6%," Bajaj Finserv Managing Director Sanjiv Bajaj told PTI.
The Pune-based Bajaj Finserv is the holding company of Bajaj Finance along with its general insurance and life insurance businesses, among others.
While Bajaj Finance reported a 46% rise in profit to Rs 591 crore in FY13, the general insurance business posted a 138% increase in profit at Rs 295 crore over the previous fiscal.
However, profit in the life insurance business witnessed a marginal drop of 1.90% at Rs 1,286 crore during the last fiscal.
"Going ahead, growth of insurance industry will depend on the overall economic enviornment," Bajaj said.
Referring to new banking licence, he said the company has appointed a consultant to advise regarding this matter. He declined to divulge further details.
Shares of the company closed 0.9% down at Rs 755 apiece on the BSE.
