Shriram Transport Fin sets sights on 12% AUM growth

Commercial vehicle financier Shriram Transport Finance today said it's looking at 12 per cent growth in its asset under management (AUM) this fiscal on account of an expected revival in the economy.
"We are targeting an AUM growth of 12 per cent this year in a normal economic environment. We expect a good pick-up in commercial vehicle segment," managing director and CEO Umesh Revankar said.
He made it conditional to the government starting to spend on infrastructure.
As of March-end, the company's total AUM stood at Rs 59,108 crore against Rs 53,116 crore last year.
In the March quarter, its stand-alone profit after tax rose marginally by 7.38 per cent to Rs 316.73 crore against Rs 294.96 crore in the previous year.

"The improvement in Q4 profit was due to higher disbursement which we witnessed in the last two quarters," Revankar said.

On a consolidated basis, Q4 net profit plunged 73 per cent to Rs 84.23 crore as against Rs 314.89 crore in the year-ago period.
"There were Rs 230 crore losses in our equipment finance business in the year," he said.
The company also has plans to raise Rs 500 crore through non-convertible debentures in the second quarter, he said.
It has a separate subsidiary -- Shriram Equipment Finance (SEFC) -- to fund capital requirements of large and medium contractors engaged in building of roads, bridges, dams and other infrastructure projects.

The company now intends to look at consolidation in SEFC through focus on recovery.
Its gross NPAs stood at 3.79 per cent and expects the number to remain the same for the first and second quarters of 2015-16.