Bajaj Finserv's Q2 net jumps to Rs 277 cr

Company's consolidated gross revenue up by 9% to Rs 4,056 cr in the July-September quarter

Financial services company Bajaj Finserv has reported a 28 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 277 crore for the July-September quarter, led by growth in its lending and general insurance businesses.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 217 crore in the year-ago period (July-September 2012).

The business environment in the second quarter of FY14 was marked by slow growth, high inflation and high interest rate, the company said in a statement.

S Sreenivasan, president (finance) at Bajaj Finserv, said: "Growth in the second quarter (of FY14) was led by Bajaj Finance where we saw a 30 per cent growth in net profit and general insurance business, which witnessed 45 per cent increase in profit after tax."

At present, Bajaj Finserv Ltd runs three businesses - the life insurance through its subsidiary Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, general insurance business through Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, and lending business through Bajaj Finance.

Finserv's consolidated gross revenue rose by nine per cent to Rs 4,056 crore in the July-September quarter against Rs 3,721 crore in the year-ago period.

Bajaj Finance, the lending arm, which focuses on the consumer, SME and commercial segment reported a 30 per cent rise in net profit in Q2 of FY14 at Rs 167 crore against Rs 129 crore in the year-ago period.

Its total income in the second quarter rose 31 per cent to Rs 964 crore, compared to Rs 737 crore in the year-ago period.

Rajeev Jain, CEO of Bajaj Finance, said the cost of funds could go up in the second half. While some may be absorbed by the company, part of it will be passed on to customers. The asset quality was steady with gross non-performing assets of 1.14 per cent for Q2.

Bajaj Finance's assets under management stood at Rs 19,829 crore as on September 30, compared to Rs 17,517 crore as on March 31, 2013.