Bajaj Finserv Q4 net jumps fourfold to Rs 438 cr

Diversified financial services company Bajaj Finserv today recorded a four-fold jump in net profit to Rs 438 crore for the quarter ended March 31 over the same period last year and declared a 20 per cent dividend.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 107 crore for the same quarter a year ago.

However, income from operations declined to Rs 128 crore during the quarter, against Rs 136 crore in the same period a year ago.

Total income surged to Rs 652 crore against Rs 140 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

On an annual basis, net profit increased to Rs 559 crore during 2009-10 against Rs 71 crore in the previous fiscal, Bajaj Finserv Managing Director Sanjiv Bajaj said.

The board recommended a dividend of Re 1 per share, or 20 per cent per share with face value of Rs 5, subject to approval of shareholders.

The excellent result was due to strong performances by subsidiaries and associate companies, each of which have reported record profit for the year, he said.

The life insurance business of the group posted a Rs 542 crore profit in 2009-10 against a loss of Rs 71 crore in the previous year, he said.

However, premium collections from the new policies issued by Bajaj Life Insurance declined to Rs 4,451 crore, compared to Rs 4,492 crore in the previous fiscal.

At the same time, vehicle finance arm Bajaj Auto Finance posted a net profit of Rs 89 crore compared to Rs 34 crore a year ago.

The total income for the auto finance arm stood at Rs 9,100.6 crore, up 53 per cent from Rs 594.81 crore in 2008-09.

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance registered a net profit of Rs 121 crore during the year against Rs 95 crore in the previous fiscal.

Shares of Bajaj Finserv today closed at Rs 435.45 on the BSE, down 0.79 per cent from the previous close.