Bajaj Finance Q4 profit surges 21% to ₹3,825 cr

NBFC major Bajaj Finance reported a 21% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit in Q4 FY24 at ₹3,825 crore. The NBFC's consolidated net interest income (NII) increased 28% YoY to ₹8,013 crore.

The number of new loans booked grew by 4% in Q4 FY24 to 7.87 million against 7.56 million in Q4 FY23, though Bajaj Finance says the number was lower by 0.80 million in the wake of the recent RBI curbs.

“The new loans booked during the quarter were lower by approximately 0.80 million on account of the restrictions placed by the RBI on the Company, on sanction and disbursal of loans under 'eCOM' and 'lnsta EMI Card'," Bajaj Finance says in an exchange filing.

In November 2023, the RBI ordered Bajaj Finance to stop sanction and disbursal of loans under its two lending products namely, ‘eCOM’ and ‘Insta EMI Card’. The action was taken due to “non-issuance of key fact statements to the borrowers under these two lending products and the deficiencies in the key fact statements issued in respect of other digital loans sanctioned by the company”.

For the full fiscal year, Bajaj Finance's profit surged 26% to ₹14,451 crore from ₹11,508 crore in FY23. The NII surged 29% to ₹29,582 crore in FY24 against ₹22,989 crore in FY23.

The company’s net NPA as of 31 March 2024 stood at 0.37% vs 0.34% as of March 31, 2023. The AUM grew 34% to ₹3,30,615 crore as of March 31, 2024, from ₹2,47,379 crore in the year-ago period; AUM grew by ₹19,647 crore in Q4 FY24.

Customer franchise stood at 83.64 million as of 31 March 2024 vs 69.14 million in the year-ago period, up 21%. In Q4, it grew by 3.23 million.

The Bajaj Finance board recommended a dividend of ₹36 per equity share of face value of ₹2 for FY24 vs ₹30 per equity share in the previous year.

On a standalone basis, Bajaj Finance's Q4 FY24 net profit for the quarter came in at ₹3,402 crore, up 20% YoY, while the NII surged 29% YoY to ₹7,340 crore.

Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd's Q4 net profit was recorded at ₹381 crore, up 26%, from ₹302 crore in the year-ago period. The NII of the housing finance arm of Bajaj Finance surged 11% YoY to ₹629 crore.

Bajaj Financial Securities' Q4 profit was ₹22 crore vs ₹3 crore in the year-ago period, and NII came in at ₹38 crore against ₹13 crore YoY.

The company’s 37th Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, 23 July 2024. Additionally, its board, based on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, recommended the appointment of Tarun Bajaj as an independent director for five years from August 1, 2024.

Shares of Bajaj Finance fell nearly 0.46% to ₹7,293.90 on the BSE on Thursday even though the benchmark Sensex surged 0.66%.