Ujjivan Financial posts Q1 net profit of Rs 45 crore

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Ujjivan Financial Services registered a consolidated net profit of Rs 45 crore in the first quarter ended June, mainly on account
of healthy increase in revenues from operations. It had posted a net loss of Rs 74.90 crore in the corresponding April-June period of
2017-18
However, compared sequentially, the profit was lower than Rs 64.90 crore posted in the March quarter of the previous financial year
2017-18. Total income during April-June 2018-19 increased by 28.4 per cent to Rs 459.60 crore as against Rs 358.10 crore in the same period
of 2017-18, Ujjivan said in a regulatory filing. Net interest income grew by 61 per cent during the June quarter grew to Rs 222.40 crore
While net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, improved to 11.6 per cent in June 2018 from 9.2 per cent a year ago. Company's
asset quality improved as the gross non-performing assets (NPAs) as a percentage of gross lending fell to 2.7 per cent as on June 30, 2018,
from 6.2 per cent as of June 2017. Net NPAs or bad loans also fell to 0.3 per cent from 2.3 per cent. There was a fall in provisions and
contingencies by 68.2 per cent to Rs 37.90 crore in June quarter from Rs 119.20 crore a year ago, helping the company to register
gains. Ujjivan Financial Service began its fully owned small finance banking services through the launch of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank in
early 2017. On the banking outlets rollout plan, Ujjivan Financial said it converted 87 of its asset centres into banking outlets in the
June quarter of 2018-19 and added one unbanked rural centre (URC). For the full year, a total of 475 banking outlets are being planned with
219 assets centres to be converted into bank branches, opening of 7 new outlets and 62 new URCs in West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Gujarat,
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Remaining 49 asset centres will be converted in 2019-20, it said. Samit Ghosh, MD CEO, Ujjivan Small Finance
Bank, said: "The transition to a bank from a microfinance institution has stabilised and last year we completed the clean-up of our
portfolio post demonetisation
We are now focussed on scaling up different business verticals of the bank and multiple distribution channels
This quarter we also witnessed a good momentum on the retail deposits as we have reduced our reliance on CDs." Cost of funds has reduced and
with continued efforts the gross NPAs have reduced significantly, said Ittira Davis, MD CEO, Ujjivan Financial Services. Calculated on
average cost of borrowings and deposits, company's cost of funds fell to 8.6 per cent during the quarter from 9.8 per cent in year ago same
period. However, it was up at 8 per cent from 7.5 per cent year ago when calculated on the basis of marginal cost of interest of
borrowings. Stock of Ujjivan Financial Services closed 3.30 per cent up at Rs 399.45 on BSE.