DHFL shares extend fall for 3rd day, tank 5 pc

Shares of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd continued to fall for the third consecutive day, falling nearly 5 per cent on Wednesday, after the company reported a 36.7 per cent decline in net profit for the December quarter.

Besides, an expose by Cobrapost portal on alleged diversion of loans by DHFL impacted trading sentiment.

DHFL stock plunged 4.97 per cent to close at Rs 161.60 on the BSE. Intra-day, it tumbled 9.73 per cent to Rs 153.50 -- its 52-week low.

On the NSE, shares fell by 4.86 per cent to close at Rs 161.45.

In last three days, its stock has plummeted by 22.75 per cent.

Housing finance company DHFL Friday reported a 36.7 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 313.60 crore for the third quarter ended December 2018.

The Mumbai-based company had posted a net profit of Rs 495.44 crore in the third quarter of last fiscal.

However, total income rose to Rs 3,255.9 crore during the quarter, compared to Rs 2,896.66 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, DHFL said in a statement.

According to a Cobrapost expose, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) through layers of shell companies allegedly siphoned off Rs 31,000 crore out of total bank loans of Rs 97,000 crore.

DHFL in a statement said the company is publicly listed housing finance company and is regulated by the National Housing Bank and the Securities and Exchange Board of India, amongst other regulators.

"This mischievous misadventure by Cobrapost appears to have been done with a mala fide intent to cause damage to the goodwill and reputation of DHFL and resulting in erosion in shareholder value," the company said in a statement.