India's LIC Housing Finance tops Q2 profit view on steady home loan demand

Bajaj Housing Finance

28/10/2024 12:35

Oct 28 (Reuters) - India's LIC Housing Finance  LICH.NS 
reported a bigger-than-expected second-quarter profit on Monday,
helped by steady demand for its home loans.
        The company said its profit after tax rose about 12% to
13.29 billion rupees ($158.1 million) for the quarter ended
Sept. 30, outpacing analysts' expectation of 12.26 billion
rupees, per data compiled by LSEG.
  
        The firm is 45%-owned by Life Insurance Corporation of
India  LIFI.NS , the country's top insurer.
  
    Demand for homes in India, especially in the luxury
category, is steadily rising, which, in turn, is fuelling demand
for home loans.
    The affordable housing segment is also seeing a pick up,
helped by the government's push for low-cost housing. 
        As a result, LIC Housing's total loan disbursements grew
12% to 164.76 billion rupees during the second quarter.
    "With stable interest rates, we expect steady growth in the
next two quarters," the company said in statement.
        However, its net interest income - the difference
between interest earned and paid - fell 6% to 19.74 billion
rupees as its finance costs rose during the quarter.
    LIC Housing's net interest margin (NIM), a key gauge for
profitability, shrunk for the second consecutive quarter to
2.71% from 2.76% in the first quarter due to increasing
competition in the home finance sector, according to analysts.
    It reported an NIM of 3.04% for the second quarter last
year.
    Rivals PNB Housing Housing  PNBH.NS  and newly-listed Bajaj
Housing Finance  BAJO.NS  also reported a rise in quarterly
profit, supported by higher demand for home loans.
    Shares of LIC Housing ended 3.4% higher after its results.


($1 = 84.0725 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia
Cheema)
 ((Dimpal.Gulwani@thomsonreuters.com;))