Mahindra Finance March quarter net drops 3 per cent to Rs 336.51 crore

Mahindra Finance on Wednesday reported a marginal 3 per cent dip in post-tax profit at Rs 336.51 crore for the quarter ended March, from Rs 346.36 crore a year ago.

Last fiscal year's number included a one-off gain of Rs 64.26 crore through the sale of investment in its insurance broking subsidiary, managing director Ramesh Iyer said.

"You should rather see the profit before tax component," he said. The company's profit before tax was up 18 per cent at Rs 469 crore, including an excess provision of Rs 36 crore.

For the reporting quarter, total income from operations grew to Rs 1,360.20 crore as against the Rs 1,110.29 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Mr Iyer said that there has been an increase in the cash flows from its key markets in the South and others like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which is helping improve its NPA (non-performing asset) position.

Gross non-performing loans ratio has come down to 4.4 per cent from the 4.8 per cent in December 2013. Mr Iyer said that it would narrow down further during the fiscal year.

He said the gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio spiked to 4.8 per cent from the 3 per cent in March 2013.

For the full fiscal year, the company's net profit rose to Rs 954.42 crore from Rs 927.03 crore in the previous fiscal year.

Shares in Mahindra Finance, on Wednesday, ended flat at Rs 245 apiece on the BSE, whose 30-share benchmark ended the session with a 0.52 per cent gain.