Bajaj Finance Ltd (BOM:500034) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong AUM Growth and Customer ...

In This Article:

  • Assets Under Management (AUM): Grew by INR 19,732 crores in the quarter, with a total consolidated AUM just below INR 374,000 crores, marking a 29% growth.

  • New Loans Booked: Increased by 14% to INR 9.7 million compared to the previous year.

  • Customer Additions: Added 4 million new customers in Q2, with a total customer franchise reaching 92.1 million.

  • Profit Before Tax (PBT): Grew by 14% to INR 5,401 crores.

  • Profit After Tax (PAT): Increased by 13% to INR 4,014 crores.

  • Return on Equity (ROE): Recorded at 19.1%.

  • Net Non-Performing Assets (NPA): Stood at 46 basis points.

  • Net Interest Income (NII): Grew by 23% to INR 8,828 crores.

  • Operating Expenses to Net Total Income: Improved to 33.2% from 34% the previous year.

  • Credit Cost: Gross loan loss and provisions at INR 934 crores, with net loan losses at INR 910 crores.

  • Cost of Funds: Increased slightly to 7.97%.

  • Deposits Growth: Grew by 21% to INR 66,131 crores.

  • Liquidity Buffer: Stood at INR 2,200 crores.

  • Employee Headcount: Total of 59,400 employees, with 4,007 added in Q2.

Release Date: October 22, 2024

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

  • Bajaj Finance Ltd (BOM:500034) reported a 29% year-on-year growth in Assets Under Management (AUM), indicating strong business expansion.

  • The company added 4 million new customers in Q2, with an estimated total of 15 to 16 million new customers expected for FY25.

  • Net Interest Income (NII) grew by 23% to INR8,828 crores, showing robust revenue generation.

  • The company maintained a strong liquidity buffer of INR2,200 crores, ensuring financial stability.

  • Bajaj Finance Ltd (BOM:500034) received an investment-grade rating from Moody's, enhancing its creditworthiness.

Negative Points

  • Loan losses remained elevated, with gross loan loss and provisions at INR934 crores, impacting profitability.

  • The cost of funds increased slightly to 7.97%, which could pressure margins if not managed effectively.

  • Credit costs were a dampener for the quarter, with net loan loss to average assets expected to be between 2% and 2.5% for FY25.

  • The company's deposit growth was slower than expected due to a competitive pricing environment.

  • Stage 2 and Stage 3 assets saw a net increase of INR542 crores, indicating some deterioration in asset quality.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you provide more details on asset quality and net interest income (NII) trends? A: Rajeev Jain, Managing Director, explained that bounce rates are lower, but flow rates are higher, indicating a cautious optimism about asset quality. They have added staff in deeper geographies to improve debt management. Sandeep Jain, CFO, noted that a 25 basis point drop in repo rate could improve NIM by 10-12 basis points, but they plan to use this to grow secured businesses rather than taking it through the P&L.