Muthoot Capital looks to increase loan book to Rs 2,500 crore

MUMBAI: Two-wheeler focussed non-banking lender Muthoot Capital Services is diversifying aggressively into corporate and SME segments to grow faster and has set a target of growing loan book by two-and-a-half times to Rs 2,500 crore this fiscal.
The Kochi-based NBFC from the Muthoot Pappachen Group has crossed Rs 1,000 crore in loan book size in the just-concluded financial year.

The company entered the two-wheeler space in 2007 and in the just-concluded fiscal began funding corporates and SMEs as well, which helped it boost its loan book to Rs 1,039 crore.

"We have set a target of growing loan book by close to threefold at Rs 2,500 crore this year from Rs 1,039 crore last year. We hope to get a good portion of the incremental growth from new businesses like corporate and SME lending," Muthoot Capital managing director Thomas George Muthoot told PTI.

Meanwhile, the company today reported a net profit of Rs 6.87 crore for the March quarter, up 11.53 per cent y-o-y, and attributed lower profit to higher interest outgo, which increased 14 per cent to Rs 22.34 crore. Total income rose to Rs 63.41 crore during the quarter, registering a growth of 22 per cent, while total expenses rose 24 per cent to Rs 52.45 crore.

Muthoot attributed the good numbers to innovative products, aggressive strategies and entry into new markets.

For the full year, the company reported total income of Rs 228.49 crore, a growth of 19.44 per cent, and a net profit of Rs 22.85 crore, up 2.5 per cent over FY15.

Its foray into corporate and other business loans also helped boost the loan disbursements. Total loan disbursements for the March quarter rose to Rs 314.65 crore. This comprised two-wheeler loans totalling Rs 234.76 crore, and corporate and other business loans totalling Rs 79.89 crore.

For the whole year, loan disbursement rose to Rs 927.96 crore from Rs 648.84 crore. Out of this two-wheeler loans totalled Rs 780.02 crore, up from Rs 592.45 crore a year ago, while SME and corporate loans rose to Rs 147.94 crore from Rs 56.39 crore.

During the year, it expanded operations into the Northern and Eastern markets.