L&T Finance Holdings Q3 profit halves to Rs 291 crore

L&T Finance Holdings Ltd. (LTFH), a part of Larsen & Toubro Group, on Friday reported a 51 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 291 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2020, as compared to Rs 591 crore in the corresponding period last year. On the quarter-on-quarter basis, the profit rose by 10 per cent from Rs 265 crore in September quarter of 2020.

The consolidated revenue from operations declined to Rs 3,503.43 crore compared to Rs 3,630.64 crore in Q3 FY20, LTFH said in an exchange filing. The revenue from operations stood at Rs 3,408.10 crore in September quarter.

Interest income was down at Rs 3,304.44 crore from Rs 3,35754 crore, while fees and commission income fell to Rs 154.02 crore as against Rs 21904 crore in the year ago period.

"The quarter saw a strong economic recovery across sectors led by rural and infrastructure. Higher farmer income, positive rural sentiment, combined with the festive season helped maintain market share in farm equipment and two-wheeler finance," LTFH said in a filing to the BSE.

During the October-December period, the company posted highest quarterly disbursements since Q1 FY20, up by 51 per cent QoQ. Farm Equipment disbursements rose by 43 per cent QoQ at Rs 1,554 crore in Q3 FY21 versus Rs 1,089 crore in Q2 FY21. Two-wheeler disbursements were up 50 per cent at Rs 1,652 crore compared to Rs 1,102 crore in September quarter of the current fiscal.

Commenting on the financial results Dinanath Dubhashi, Managing Director & CEO, LTFH, said, "Post Covid, the rural economy has performed better than urban and this trend is reflected in our disbursements, which are almost at pre-covid levels. The festive season uptick and a steady recovery in collection volumes also underline our rural performance. Our strong performance in Infra disbursements should be seen alongside the sell-down volumes, which have increased on a YoY basis. It allows us to generate more fee income while proportionately reduces the need for allocating higher capital."

Dubhashi further added, "In the long term, structural changes such as government initiatives, normal monsoons and better infrastructure will continue to improve financial health in rural. We will maintain focus on capitalizing on our market leadership position in Farm Equipment and Two-Wheeler Finance to drive business volumes."

Ahead of Q3 results, shares of L&T Finance Holdings ended Friday's trade at Rs 105.10, down 1.87 per cent, as against the previous closing price of Rs 107.1 on Bombay Stock Exchange.

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