Indiabulls Housing Finance Company Ltd (IHFL) reported a 22 per cent increase in the fourth quarter net profit, helped by robust demand for home loans from the middle segment in suburbs of metro cities.
In the January-March quarter, the Mumbai-based housing finance company posted a net profit of Rs 371 crore against Rs 303 crore in the year-ago period. The middle segment comprises houses in the Rs 45-70 lakh category, Gagan Banga, Chief Executive, IHFL said.
The company, whose average loan size is Rs 24 lakh, earned a total income of Rs 1,323 crore (Rs 1,105 crore in Q4 last year).
The company’s loan book grew 25 per cent to Rs 34,425 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2013. The company expects loans to grow 25 per cent in FY 2013-14, Banga said.
Prices in the small-to-medium housing segments are unlikely to fall as the supply in this category is far less than the demand, he added.
Shares of the company closed at Rs 272.30 a share, up 2.85 per cent, on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
satyanarayan.iyer@thehindu.co.in