BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian mortgage lender PNB Housing Finance Ltd on Thursday reported an almost 65% jump in its fourth-quarter profit, led by increased demand for housing loans.
PNB Housing, a unit of state-run lender Punjab National Bank Ltd, said it earned a consolidated net profit of 2.79 billion rupees ($34 million) for the quarter ended March 31, from 1.70 billion rupees a year earlier.
Its net interest margin, a key measure of profitability, stood at 3.74%, while net interest income expanded 57% to 5.93 billion rupees.
India’s burgeoning middle class has pushed up demand for housing post the pandemic, thanks to a rise in urbanisation and growing disposable income, even as loan interest rates rose.
The Reserve Bank of India raised the key interest rate by a total of 250 basis points since May 2022, pausing the hikes in April.
The New Delhi-based company’s asset quality improved, with gross non-performing assets as a percentage of total loans slipping to 3.83% as on March 31 from 4.87% as on Dec. 30, 2022.
Disbursements for the quarter rose by 22% year-on-year to 44.95 billion rupees.
Shares of PNB Housing Finance closed 2.5% higher at 480.40 rupees ahead of results.
Parent Punjab National Bank is due to report its fourth-quarter results on Friday.
($1 = 81.7800 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Kashish Tandon; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
