With a view to strengthen its distribution, LIC Housing Finance (LICHFL) plans to launch a financial services subsidiary this quarter, a top company official said.
"We are launching our financial services subsidiary called LIC Housing Finance Financial Services which will help us improve our disbursement of loans and other financial products, during the quarter," LICHFL's Director and Chief Executive, R R Nair, told PTI here.
The first office would be operational in Mumbai and subsequently the company plans to open offices pan-India, he said.
The company had already opened an office for its 100 per cent financial services subsidiary, Nair said, adding "the office will be operational by end-this month or by mid- February."
Currently, the state-owned LICHFL disburses loans through agents and around 7,000 marketing intermediaries, he said.
LIC Housing Finance clocked a net profit of Rs 134.33- crore in Q3 FY 09, a growth of 27% as against Rs 106.62-crore in the year-ago period.
The company posted a growth of 39 per cent in its total income including other income at Rs 767-crore during the period as compared to Rs 550-crore in the same period last year.
"The third-quarter was most difficult and challenging but we have outperformed the industry. The improvement in profitability and asset quality helped us in the period," Nair said.
Bullish about the fourth quarter, Nair said, "we expect to maintain the same tempo."
He further said that there would be a surge in demand for homes in Q4 FY 09.
"Price stabilisation, inventory clearance by builders and lower interest rates would propel demand for housing in the fourth-quarter, provided there is no untoward insecurity in the job sector," he said.
The company was expecting a growth of 35-40 per cent in its revenue and net profit by end-this fiscal, he said.
During the quarter, LIC Housing Finance disbursed loans amounting to Rs 1,944-crore while its sanctions stood at Rs 2,625-crore, Nair said.
