Indiabulls Housing Q1 net up 31% at Rs 351 cr on core income

MUMBAI: Indiabulls Housing Finance today reported a 31.35 per cent jump in June quarter net profit at Rs 351.5 crore on healthy growth in the core interest income.

The company's net interest income was up 31 per cent at Rs 598.76 crore during the reporting quarter. Total revenues stood at Rs 1,344 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, up 27.95 per cent over the same period last year.

The spread between the interest earned and interest expended widened to 3.50 per cent, pushing the net interest margin to over 5 per cent, Indiabulls Housing Chief Executive Gagan Banga said.

The company's average loan size increased to Rs 24 lakh, with an average loan to value ratio of 66 per cent and a term of 13 years.

On the asset quality front, the gross non-performing assets ratio improved marginally to 0.78 per cent as against the year ago's 0.79 per cent.

The Group has completed the reverse merger between Indiabulls Finance Services and Indiabulls Housing Finance, Banga said, adding the latter's shares will get listed on the bourses next Tuesday.

Under the scheme, shareholders of Indiabulls Finance got one share in the housing finance firm for each share held.

The promoters hold 37.7 per cent share in the company, while 46.9 per cent is with foreign shareholders and 11.8 per cent with the public, the company said.

The company announced a dividend of Rs 6 per share. Asked about the impact of the Reserve Bank's recent liquidity tightening on its cost of funds, Banga said his firm will not be affected much as only eight per cent of its borrowings are through the commercial paper, where the rates are expected to harden.

Additionally, he said the company is carrying almost Rs 7,200 crore in liquidity locked up in liquid debt instruments and does not have to depend on the short-term market.