Helped by strong demand recovery, Bajaj Auto Finance has posted a 67 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 25.2 crore for fourth quarter ended March 31 as against Rs 15.1 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Its net interest income (NII) for reporting quarter rose by 42 per cent to Rs 198.2 crore as against Rs 139.6 crore in the fourth quarter last year, Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Jain said.
The board of Pune-based non-banking finance company (NBFC) has recommended a dividend of Rs 6 per share (60 per cent) for the year 2009-2010. Last year, the company had paid 20 per cent dividend per share.
Its net profit for 2009-10 jumped by 164 per cent to Rs 89.4 crore from Rs 33.9 crore in 2008-09. Its NII for financial year 2009-10 increased to Rs 714.5 crore from Rs 435 crore in previous year, showing a growth of 64 per cent.
Jain said the net interest margin was about 18 per cent and would stabilise around 8 per cent as the loan book expand over next few years.
Its loan deployment grew by 87 per cent to Rs 4,585.1 crore. The two- and three-wheelers segment saw 74.3 per cent growth (Rs 1,363.36 crore), followed by 58.4 per cent to Rs 1,037.47 crore respectively. The loan book at end of March 2010 was Rs 4,100 crore.
It expects a loan deployment growth of 35-40 per cent in 2010-11. Its gross borrowings are expected to be in the region of Rs 3,000 crore in 2011. The cost of borrowing may go up by 100 basis points, he said.
Asked if the NBFC would pass on rise in resource cost, Jain said it would depend on the competition.
Its loan loss coverage ratio rose to Rs 88.7 crore at end of March 2010 from Rs 51.7 crore a year ago. Its capital adequacy ratio was 26 per cent for 2009-10.
