Reliance Capital Q3 net up 10%

The company posted net profit of Rs 235 cr for the period compared to Rs 213 cr posted in same quarter previous fiscal

Reliance Capital posted a 10.3 per cent rise in consolidated net profit year-on-year for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015, boosted by strong growth in profits in asset management and commercial finance business.

The company posted a net profit of Rs 235 crore for the period compared to Rs  213 crore posted in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

The total income for the third quarter stood at Rs  2,318 crore against Rs  2,106 crore in the corresponding year-ago period, an increase of 10 per cent. As on December 31, 2015, the net worth of the company stood at Rs 14,451 crore, an increase of 10 per cent.

Sam Ghosh, Executive Director and Group CEO, Reliance Capital, said, "Asset management business has contributed substantially to the overall profits." Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM) had profit before tax of Rs 141 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, a y-o-y increase of 12 per cent.

Ghosh said the general insurance company also saw some increased profits. He said they were trying to de-focus on the commercial vehicle business and go for more space in private cars business. In the life insurance space, he said profits were down as they were focussing on traditional products.

Reliance Commercial Finance (RCF)'s profit before tax for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, was Rs 112 crore, a y-o-y increase of 1 per cent. It included Reliance Home Finance profit of Rs 33 crore, a y-o-y increase of 35 per cent.

In Reliance General, the gross written premium for the quarter was Rs 668 crore, while new premiums in Reliance Life stood at Rs 285 crore. Ghosh said they would try and conclude the life insurance and asset management stake sale transaction by March 31. He added that they were in talks with 3-4 interested players for a foreign direct investment in the general insurance company.

Ghosh said the key focus was to reduce debt. "The stake sale from life and asset management is happening and the Rs 3,000 crore that will come from this will go to the housing finance company as well as towards reducing debt," he said.