Centrum Capital plans to raise up to Rs 500 crore in equity via QIP

The board also gave nod to the issuing of non-convertible debentures of up to Rs 1,000 crore

Centrum Capital (CCL) plans to raise up to Rs 500 crore in equity capital from institutio­nal investors to fund organic and inorganic opportunities.

The board approved an enabling resolution proposal to issue equity shares through qualified institutional placements (QIPs) for an amount of up to Rs 500 crore.

This is subject to regulatory and shareholders’ approval, the company said in a filing with the BSE. Its stock closed 9.9 per cent lower at Rs 47.5 per share on the exchange.

The board also gave nod to the issuing of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of up to Rs 1,000 crore. The debentures could be issued in one or more tranches.

Company executives said it would like to be ready for new business opportunities and an enabling resolution helps tap investors in the shortest possible time. However, at present, there are no concrete plans on deployment. This money will not be used for starting a small finance bank (SFB) in joint venture with Bharat-Pe.

The board also decided not to recommend a dividend for financial year 2020-21, af­ter taking into consideration the impact of the pandemic on the economy and the need to conserve resources.

Meanwhile, Centrum Capital posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 5.54 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2021 against a profit of Rs 25.05 crore in the same quarter of the year ended March 2020. Its total income, on a consolidated basis, rose to Rs 148.38 crore for Q4 of FY21 from Rs 125.55 crore in Q4 of FY20.

For the full year of FY21, consolidated loss stood at Rs 41.8 crore on income of Rs 513.14 crore against a profit of Rs 70 lakh on income of Rs 480.47 crore in FY20, according to the filing with the exchange.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave “in-principle” nod to Centrum Financial Services (CFSL), a unit of CCL, to set up an SFB. The SFB, being set-up jointly with its partner BharatPe, a payments system company, will infuse Rs 1,800 crore. It will take over the beleaguered Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank.