LIC Housing Q4 net jumps 17% to Rs 370 cr on core income, NIM

Mortgage lender LIC Housing Finance (LICHFL) posted a 17 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 370.02 crore in the March quarter on healthy growth in core interest income and widening of margins.
The subsidiary of life insurance giant LIC had posted a profit of Rs 316.16 crore a year earlier.
"In a year where macros have been quite challenging, we have done well in all areas of operations," LICHFL Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sunita Sharma said.
The company's core net interest income grew 16 per cent to Rs 533 crore in the fourth quarter from Rs 461 crore in the corresponding period last year.

LICHFL was able to widen margins during the quarter, she said, adding that the net interest margin went up to 2.4 per cent from 2.16 per cent in the December quarter.
"We have seen improvements in margins in spite of extreme volatility in debt market," she said.

For the full year (FY14), margins stood at 2.25 per cent, Sharma said, adding that she expects an improvement to 2.30-2.35 per cent in the current financial year.
For FY14, profit after tax stood at Rs 1,317.19 crore, a rise of 29 per cent from Rs 1,023.31 crore last year.
Total income in the January-March quarter was up 19 per cent at Rs 2,478 crore from Rs 2,075 crore a year ago.

Revenue from operations grew 19 per cent from Rs 2,028 crore to Rs 2,407 crore.
Gross NPAs of LICHFL rose marginally to 0.67 per cent as of March 31 from 0.61 per cent a year ago. Net NPAs stood at 0.39 per cent as against 0.36 per cent.
Gross NPAs in the individual loan segment were 0.27 per cent on March 31 as against 0.32 per cent last year. There were no fresh slippages in the quarter.
The outstanding mortgage portfolio at end March was Rs 91,341 crore, up 17 per cent, as against Rs 77,813 crore last year. The individual loan portfolio jumped 18 per cent to Rs 88,559 crore as on March 31.

"We will continue to focus on margin expansion and growth this year as well. We expect a growth of 20 per cent in our loan portfolio in FY15," Sharma said.
LICHFL shares rose 1.37 per cent to close at 273.15 on the BSE, while the 30-share benchmark Sensex gained 0.6 per cent.