Bajaj Finance, the lending arm of the Bajaj Group, has reported a 54 per cent growth in net profit to ₹424 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, against ₹275.63 crore in the same period last year. This is the highest ever quarterly profit for the company. Total income in Q1 FY17 climbed 39 per cent to ₹2,301 crore (₹1,656 crore in Q1 FY16), while assets under management rose 40 per cent to ₹49,608 crore (₹35,557 crore).

The major highlight from the shareholders’ perspective was the board’s approval to split the equity shares of face value ₹10 into five equity shares of face value ₹2 each. It also gave its nod to issue one fully paid bonus equity share of face value ₹2 each for every share of similar value held.

Shareholders’ view will be sought for both the proposals through a postal ballot. The expected time for completion of both actions is within two months of the board meeting (by September 25), Bajaj Finance said in a filing to the BSE.

In Q1 FY17, there was a 48 per cent rise in customer acquisition to over 25 lakh, from 17.19 lakh in Q1 FY16.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) and net NPAs stood at 1.47 per cent and 0.41 per cent, respectively, and the provisioning-coverage ratio was 73 per cent.

During the quarter, as required under RBI guidelines, Bajaj Finance changed its NPA recognition policy from 150 days overdue to 120 days overdue.

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