Sundaram Finance net profit jumps 38 pc to Rs 271 cr in Mar quarter

The non-banking financial company had posted a net profit of Rs 195.65 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. 

For the full year 2020-21, the consolidated net profit went up by 47 per cent to Rs 1,165.09 crore as against Rs 791.54 crore in 2019-20, Sundaram Finance said in a regulatory filing. 

The company's board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 6 per share, subject to regulatory approval for 2020-21, it said. 

This is in addition to Rs 12 per share interim dividend for the fiscal declared in January 2021, the firm added. 

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) and net NPAs as on March 31, 2021, stood at 2.28 per cent and 1.35 per cent, respectively, when compared with 2.77 per cent and 1.92 per cent at the end of March 2020, it said. 

Sundaram Finance Executive Vice-Chairman Harsha Viji said, ''While the first quarter of last year was almost a complete washout..., we saw a strong recovery in the second half led by the tractor, tipper and construction equipment segments.'' Its double-digit disbursements growth in the fourth quarter is a clear indication that ''we were seeing business coming back to the pre-COVID-19 levels'', he added. 

Sundaram Finance Managing Director Rajiv Lochan said that even as the intensity of the second wave of the pandemic has created uncertainty in the environment, the company will strive for prudent balance across growth, quality and profitability. 

Shares of the company on Friday closed at Rs 2,497.70 apiece on the BSE, up 2.34 per cent from the previous close.