L&T Finance

The company for current Q1FY15 showed a nearly 100% (YoY) jump in consolidated net profit at Rs.286 crore, up from Rs.145 crore. Net Interest Income (NII) was up 24% at Rs.577 crore.  There is exceptional gain of Rs.119 crore, which was a gain on account of sale of shares in City Union Bank and this is what really bloated up the profit. If we remove this exceptional gain, net profit comes in at Rs.167 crore, which is an increase of just 15%.

The big disappointment was the rise in NPAs – Gross NPA for the quarter was at 3.57%, up from 3.18% and Net NPA also rose from 2.29% to 2.67%. This rise in NPA was on account of continued stress in commercial vehicle, construction equipment and corporate segments. The company expects reversal of these weak NPAs to happen only after  the next two quarters as weak monsoon could continue to affect repayment by farmers.  Currently, retail loan comprises of company’s 50% loan book and wholesale segment contributes 45%.  The company is now exploring options of new business models – setting up small and payment banks is an option it is looking at.