Bajaj Finserv net up 14% at Rs 319 crore

Total revenue from group operations up 11% to Rs 3,855 cr

Bajaj Finserv on Wednesday said its consolidated profit after tax for the quarter ended June stood at Rs 319 crore, a rise of 14 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.

“The consumer finance, SME (small and medium enterprise) lending and general insurance businesses were the main contributors to the earnings growth. The life insurance business, on an overall basis, has been slow for the past few years, but we have been able to maintain our profitability,” Sanjiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Finserv, said after the announcement of the company’s earnings.

At Rs 211 crore, Bajaj Finance, in which Bajaj Finserv has 61.54 per cent stake, reported a 20 per cent year-on-year increase in profit after tax for the June quarter. The company’s assets under management stood at Rs 26,943 crore as of June-end. Bajaj Finance’s net non-performing asset (NPA) ratio was 0.27 per cent, while its capital adequacy ratio was 18 per cent at the end of June. Deployment increased 48 per cent to Rs 9,266 crore. The company expects 15-20 per cent growth in deployment this financial year, with disbursement expected to accelerate in the second half of 2014-15.

“Given our conservative policies, we expect our net NPA to remain at the current level,” Sanjiv Bajaj said.

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company’s profit after tax for the June quarter rose 30 per cent to Rs 130 crore. Gross written premium, excluding that in the motor pool, increased seven per cent to Rs 1,177 crore. For the life insurance business, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company, profit after tax was unchanged at Rs 115 crore.

Bajaj Finserv has 74 per cent stake in both the insurance ventures.

On the group’s proposed banking foray, Bajaj said it would await the final guidelines from the Reserve Bank of India on new bank licences before taking a final decision. “At this point, it is difficult to comment whether we will prefer a differentiated licence or a universal licence. We will study the guidelines before taking a decision,” Sanjiv Bajaj said.