Reliance Capital (RCap) reported a 53 per cent increase in net profit for the quarter ended March, at Rs 407 crore.
“We did part of the stake sale of our asset management business in the quarter. Some profits came from there. The other businesses also showed profits. The stake sale contributed to about Rs 200 crore,” said Sam Ghosh, chief executive of the financial services conglomerate, part of the Anil Ambani group.
Nippon Life acquired nine per cent stake in Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM), one of RCap's constituents, for Rs 657 crore, and raised stake to 35 per cent this February. The business got Rs 200 crore and the balance was used for provisioning on mark-to-market (recalculating assets at current values) adjustments in the media business.
In the quarter, total income was up 37 per cent on a year before, to Rs 2,527 crore. Profit before tax of RCAM was Rs 126 crore, compared with Rs 124 crore in the same quarter a year before.
The profit before tax of Reliance Commercial Finance was Rs 151 crore; it was Rs 145 crore in the same period a year before. For Reliance General Insurance, it was Rs 18 crore compared with Rs 12 crore in the year-ago period.
However, that of Reliance Life Insurance fell to Rs 87 crore from Rs 100 crore in the same period a year earlier.
“Non-performing asset (NPA) levels are slightly higher in the commercial finance business, due to which profits have not gone up significantly. The gross NPA levels are at 2.2 per cent, compared with two per cent last year,” said Ghosh.
For the entire financial year ended March 2015, RCap posted a 34 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 1,001 crore. Total income was up 17 per cent to Rs 8,861 crore in the period.
“All our businesses are profitable. Going forward, the profits will be better,” said Ghosh.
