Edelweiss Capital today reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 61.4 crore for the first quarter, up 5 per cent from Rs 58.3 crore in the corresponding period a year-ago.
The company's total revenue rose 26 per cent to Rs 284 crore and the diluted earnings per share for the April-June quarter was Rs 7.92 as against Rs 7.58 a share in the same quarter last year.
"Quarter-on-quarter, the net profit rose 17 per cent," said Edelweiss Chairman Rashesh Shah in a conference call. In the quarter ending March, 2010, the company had posted a net profit of Rs 52 crore.
The company's board of directors has recommended the issue of 1:1 bonus shares, subject to the approval of shareholders at the annual general meeting of the financial services firm on July 30.
Shah said that the online brokerage has completed the acquisition deal of offline broking firm Anagram Capital, which helped expand its client list by over 2 lakh to 2,67,000.
"We think there will be consolidation in the next couple of quarters and its a good time for both organic and inorganic growth," he said, adding that the company does not have any specific target.
On the possibility of the investment firm making a foray into the banking business, he said, "Currently, we are focused on the capital market. We will wait for the RBI guidelines and then decide."
Shah said the first quarter was not very exciting, as the market and FII flows were subdued.
"For the next two months, inflation will be the key driver for interest rates, liquidity and sentiment," he said.
