Bajaj Finance Q4 net profit jumps 61 per cent to Rs 721 crore

New Delhi: Bajaj Finance on Thursday reported a jump of 61 per cent in its standalone net profit at Rs 721 crore in the last quarter ended March 2018.

It had registered a net profit of Rs 449 crore in the same period a year earlier. Total income during January-March of 2017-18 rose by 33 per cent to Rs 3,557 crore as against Rs 2,670 crore in the corresponding year-ago period, it said in a regulatory filing.

In the full year ended March 2018, the net profit was up by 44 per cent at Rs 2,647 crore as against Rs 1,837 crore. Income increased by 33 per cent to Rs 13,329 crore from Rs 9,989 crore in 2016-17. On consolidated basis, the net profit grew by 46 per cent to Rs 2,674 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 1,836 crore in the previous fiscal.

The company's board of directors has recommended a dividend of Rs 4 per equity share for 2017-18. The dividend for 2016-17 was Rs 3.60 per equity share. The total assets under management as on March 31, 2018 increased by 40 per cent to Rs 84,033 crore.

The company said its gross non-performing assets (NPAs) and net NPAs as of 31 March 2018 stood at 1.48 per cent and 0.38 per cent, respectively. The provisioning coverage ratio stood at 75 per cent as of March 31, 2018.

"The company continues to provide for loan losses in excess of RBI requirements. As required by RBI guidelines, the company has moved its NPA recognition policy from four months overdue to three months overdue in this financial year. The comparable gross and net NPA on four months overdue stood at 1.28 per cent and 0.29 per cent, respectively as against 1.68 per cent and 0.44 per cent, respectively as of 31 Mar 2017," it said.

Stock of Bajaj Finance closed 7.75 per cent higher at Rs 2,067.25 apiece on BSE on Thursday.