“This is to inform you that the Board of Directors of the company at its meeting held today. i.e. 6 June 2024 has approved an initial public offering of equity shares of ₹10 each of the company (‘equity shares’),” said Bajaj Finance in a statement on Thursday. The IPO would be subject to market conditions, approvals and regulatory clearances.
In September 2022, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a list of upper-layer NBFCs, or businesses with assets under management of ₹50,000 crore. According to RBI guidelines, Bajaj Housing Finance, which was on the list, was supposed to be listed on the bourses by September 2025.
Also Read: Bajaj Housing Finance IPO: Bajaj Finance to offload ₹3,000 crore worth of shares via OFS
Bajaj Finance Share Price Trend
In the last one week, shares of Bajaj Finance have given 8.69 per cent returns to investors and 13.95 per cent returns in the past three months. On Friday, shares of Bajaj Finance opened at ₹6,990 and gained nearly five per cent to hit an intra day high of ₹7,298.00 against a 52-week high of ₹8,190 apiece on the BSE.
Extending gains into the third consecutive session, Indian stock market benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty 50, ended at their fresh closing highs on Friday, June 7, after the Reserve Bank of India maintained a status quo on the repo rates and policy stance while revising the GDP estimates for FY25 upwards.
The Sensex hit its fresh all-time high of 76,795.31 during the session before ending at 1,619 points, or 2.16 per cent, higher at 76,693.36, with all components in the green. Nifty 50 closed 469 points, or 2.05 per cent, higher at 23,290.15. Despite a steep loss of 6 per cent on June 4, market benchmarks are up with decent gains in June so far.
Bajaj Finance Q4 Results
For the fourth quarter ended March 31 of fiscal year 2024, Bajaj Finance had reported a 21.1 per cent year-on-year growth in its net profit at ₹3,824.53 crore. The net interest income (NII) rose 21.1 per cent at ₹3,824.53 crore as compared with Rd 3,157.8 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY23.
In April, Bajaj Finance had asked the RBI to remove restrictions on two of its lending products. In November 2023, the RBI had banned the non-banking lender from issuing loans under “eCOM” and “Insta EMI Cards” products, saying the lender did not issue key information to borrowers. The Insta EMI card offers consumers pre-approved credit for small ticket purchases, while eCOM is a consumer financing facility for online shopping via e-commerce sites.
Brokerages neutral on Bajaj Finance
Domestic brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Finance Services said that Bajaj Finance is the strongest NBFC franchise with astute execution. Still, it downgraded the stock to neutral rating due to the near-term headwinds on AUM growth as the company is cutting down business in rural B2C, and slower AUM growth in the B2B business due to the RBI ban on e-commerce and Insta EMI card.
The NIM compression of ~35 bps (compared to 20 bps earlier) in FY25E due to the expected rise in the cost of borrowings, difficulty in passing on the interest rate hikes to customers, and change in product mix; and elevated credit costs from the B2C portfolio in almost all of FY25E also led to the downgrade.
Also Read: Bajaj Finance Q4 hit by rural loan losses, RBI restrictions
Elara Securities said that with long-term stabilization away, near-term headwinds may weigh upon growth and earnings expectations, thus marring uptick prospects for valuations. While the NBFC has tried to correct deficiencies, the regulatory affirmation timeline is uncertain, which gives another valuation drag.
Also, stepping into high caution mode, Bajaj Finance is trimming guidance in key business/operational metrics given heightened credit risks apprehensions. Moreover, smooth management transition is also closely monitored. ‘’With so much ambiguity, we prune FY25E EPS four per cent and target price at 10 per cent as we foresee RoA dipping to 4.7 per cent in FY25E, before climbing to 4.8-4.9 per cent in FY26E. Thus, we lower target multiple to 4.8x (earlier 5.8x),” said the brokerage.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations provided in this analysis are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not Mint. We strongly advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and individual circumstances may vary.
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Published: 07 Jun 2024, 05:49 PM IST