Sundaram Finance Ltd. (SFL) has reported a 24 per cent increase in its standalone net profit of ₹300 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, when compared with a net profit of ₹243 crore in the year-ago quarter, aided by strong growth in income.

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The board of the company has declared an interim dividend of ₹14 per share (140%) for 2023-24.

The Chennai-headquartered NBFC’s interest income grew by 33 per cent to ₹1,195 crore in the December 2023 quarter (₹897 crore in the year-ago quarter), while total income grew by 34 per cent to ₹1,352 crore when compared with ₹1,011 crore.

Finance costs were higher at ₹694 crore compared with ₹458 crore in Q2FY23. Total expenses stood at ₹962 crore when compared with ₹692 crore in Q2FY23.

Disbursements in the December 2023 quarter rose 15 per cent to ₹6,524 crore compared with ₹5,653 crore a year ago.

“Q3 activity in the automotive space was well below expectations of the festival period, with several asset classes declining year-on-year and others growing in single digits. Despite this, Team Sundaram has delivered a tremendous performance,” said Rajiv Lochan, Managing Director of the Company.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2023, the company’s net profit grew 23 per cent to ₹.948 crore when compared with ₹772 crore in the same period the previous year.

Interest income was higher at ₹3,283 crore (₹2,551 crore), while disbursements rose 27 per cent to ₹19,954 crore (₹15,707 crore in 9M FY23), with all asset classes and geographies witnessing significant growth.

Harsha Viji, Executive Vice Chairman of the Company, said it had delivered a strong nine months and Q3 of FY24 despite lower-than-expected economic activity during the quarter. “Assets under management grew by 26% to a new high of ₹42,172 crore; net stage 3 assets closed at 1.02 per cent over the prior year period,” he added.

The gross NPA dropped to 2.61 per cent in Q3FY24 from 3.97 per cent a year ago, while the net NPA decreased to 1.82 per cent from 2.78 per cent as of December 31, 2022.

“Our group companies in asset management, general insurance, and home finance have continued their trajectory from FY23 and recorded strong results, added Viji.

Meanwhile, the company’s board on Monday approved a transfer of 79,73,529 equity shares of ₹5 each, representing a 3.59 per cent stake, held by SF in Sundaram Finance Holdings Ltd (SFHL), to the group company Trichur Sundaram Santhanam & Family Pvt Ltd (TSSFPL), and other individuals and companies forming part of our promoter group.

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SF, the promoter of SFHL, holds 5,21,76,605 equity shares of ₹5 each, representing a 23.49 per cent stake in the share capital of SFHL.

The transfer of shares is proposed to be executed through the block deal window mechanism of the stock exchange(s) or other permitted mechanism and is to be completed by March 31, 2024, it said.