PFC net up 3%, expects merger with REC by April 2027; flags concern over RBI norms
Power Finance Corporation and REC Ltd are planning to merge by April 1, 2027. This merger will create a single platform for financing India's power sector. Both companies have received in-principle approval for the restructuring. Legal and financi...
State-run power financiers Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and REC Ltd are targeting completion of their proposed merger by April 1, 2027, as the companies move ahead with creating a single-window financing platform for India’s power sector, said PFC chairman and managing director Parminder Chopra.
“Both PFC and REC boards have already given in-principle approval for restructuring and merger. For the process, we have also appointed legal advisers, transaction advisers, merchant bankers, and registered bankers,” said Chopra, adding that a detailed structure is currently under discussion and is subject to all regulatory approvals.
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PFC and REC are non-banking financial corporations under the Ministry of Power. The company on Wednesday reported a 3% rise in consolidated net profit restricted by prepayments by borrowers amid low interest rates and also reverses due to rupee depreciation.
Net profit for the quarter came in at Rs 8,597.61 crore against Rs 8,357.88 crore in the same quarter a year-ago.
Net interest income, a key profitability metric for lenders, fell 11% year-on-year to ₹10,833 crore from ₹12,109 crore in Q4 FY25.
Chopra explained that a lowering of interest rates scenario like the one seen last fiscal year leads to prepayments, and added that the loan book would have been higher at nearly 11% if not for the prepayments by borrowers. However, the company does not expect any more rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India in FY27, and is aiming for a loan book growth of 10 per cent in FY27.
PFC, Chopra said, is aiming to borrow Rs 1.6 lakh crore in FY27 to fund the loan growth, but did not comment on the sourcing of funds given the ongoing geopolitical volatility.
However, the management noted that nearly 97% of its foreign currency borrowings are hedged, limiting the broader financial risk.
Raised concerns with RBI over draft framework, Chopra said the management has raised concerns over the Reserve Bank of India’s draft framework for upper-layer NBFC classification, particularly proposed reductions in group exposure limits from 50% to 35%.
She said discussions with the RBI are underway and the company has submitted its concerns to the regulator. “On the capital front we are very comfortable, but there are other implications like the reduction in the group norms.”
The company added that it had previously qualified for upper-layer classification but had been placed in the middle layer under the draft framework.
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Last month The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released draft amendment guidelines on the identification of Upper Layer (UL) NBFCs, along with changes to the classification of government-owned NBFCs.
Under the proposed framework, the RBI plans to do away with the existing parametric scoring model used to identify UL NBFCs, and instead shift to a simpler, asset size-based approach.
PFC’s scrip ended at Rs 446.10, up 1.23% on the BSE on Wednesday. The earnings were announced during market hours.
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