Bajaj Finance lifts its FY27 AUM growth forecast to 26%-27% after reporting a 29% rise in quarterly profit, while improving asset quality and lower funding costs support earnings.
Bajaj Finance delivered a strong second quarter in FY27, extending a run of robust growth as lower credit costs, higher lending volumes and steady asset quality supported earnings. According to the company’s results, consolidated net profit rose 29% year on year to Rs 6,367 crore, while net interest income increased 24% to Rs 13,335 crore and net total income climbed 23% to Rs 15,974 crore. Assets under management rose 26% to Rs 5.85 lakh crore, with the lender adding Rs 37,680 crore of AUM in the quarter and booking 13.45 million new loans, up 11% from a year earlier. The customer franchise also expanded to 128.85 million, after adding 4.42 million customers during the period.
The September quarter also showed some improvement in credit quality. Financial Express reported that gross non-performing assets declined to 1.06% from 1.24% a year earlier, while net NPA fell to 0.42% from 0.60%. The company said operating expenses were kept under control, with Moneycontrol noting that costs as a share of net total income improved to 33%. Bajaj Finance also said its cost of funds eased by nine basis points sequentially to 7.87%, helping cushion the effect of a mildly softer net interest margin, which fell 9 basis points from the previous quarter.
Management used the results to lift its FY27 AUM growth guidance to 26%-27% from 23%-25%, while keeping its medium-term target band of 23%-25% intact. Investing.com reported that the company described the period as part of its broader shift to “BFL 3.0 – A FINAI Company”, with fresh investment in artificial intelligence across operations. The company said the first half of the year and early festival-season demand gave it confidence to raise guidance, even as it continued to monitor macroeconomic pressures.
Brokerage views remain split, but broadly constructive. NDTV Profit reported that 360 ONE Capital upgraded the stock to “Buy” from “Hold” after the recent share-price pullback improved the risk-reward balance, although it trimmed earnings estimates slightly and lowered its target multiple. Nuvama Institutional Equities kept a “Buy” rating and said the planned Rs 175 billion fundraise should support long-term growth, while Emkay Global kept a “Reduce” call, arguing that the proposed capital raise is likely to be growth-led but may compress return on equity over the next few years. NDTV Profit also noted that Bajaj Finance shares have fallen 10% over the past three months, are up more than 5% in six months and have dropped 11% over the past year.
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