)
Srei Infrastructure Finance said its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 increased by 35% from a year earlier to Rs 64 crore on account of higher revenues and better cost management.
The financial services firm's consolidated total income was at Rs 943 crore in April-June period, up 20% from a year ago. Finance cost was almost flat on a year-on-year basis at Rs 573.5 crore during this period.
"There has been an improvement in the profits in the first quarter due to better cost management," Hemant Kanoria, chairman and managing director of Srei Infrastructure Finance, said in a statement.
"The environment in the country is improving with the new government and the budget also announced many schemes for accelerating infrastructure growth. From the third quarter onwards of this financial year, we expect investments to restart in the sector, which will help augment our business and profits," he added.
Srei's consolidated asset under management was at Rs 34,713 crore, while its consolidated disbursement stood at Rs 3,217 crore at the end of June, 2014.
The company disbursed Rs 584 crore in its project finance business and also offered non-fund based solutions aggregating to Rs 376 crore. The portfolio size of this business was at Rs 11,133 crore at the end of the first quarter, up five% from a year earlier.
The total asset under management in Srei's equipment finance business was at Rs 18,775 crore at the end of June, 2014 compared to Rs 19,468 crore a year ago.
"The construction equipment industry is witnessing a major shift from strategic large ticket funding to more SME and retail customers. The shift has been primarily due to the urgent need to diversify risk and also tap new segments in IT, healthcare, rural and pre-owned equipment," the company said.
