L&T Finance To Focus On Operational Efficiency Amid Challenges In Second Half Of Current Fiscal

L&T Finance Ltd. will focus on cutting calibrated spendings to keep its operational expenditures in check in the second half of the current financial year, according to Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Sudipta Roy.

L&T Finance reported a 17% year-on-year increase in its profit after tax at Rs 696 crore from Rs 595 crore in the corresponding period in the preceding fiscal. The company's return on assets stood at around 2.6%, up 18 basis points YoY, despite sectoral upwind. Retail disbursement grew 12% YoY to Rs 15,092 crore from Rs 13,499 crore a year ago.

Commenting on the Q2 earnings, Roy told NDTV Profit that L&T Finance focused on enhancing its operational efficiencies, amid a sluggish pace in the industry due to the general elections and environmental factors in different parts of the country. Roy predicted a challenging third quarter, even as things are on the path of improvement.

"We have to be cautious and we have to place every step with extreme caution, but again, the focus on growth momentum and calibrated risk, calibrated growth momentum will continue with a completely tight control on risk or portfolio origination, as well as portfolio monitoring," he said.

Roy emphasised that L&T Finance's focus will remain on keeping the operation expenses in check.

"Calibrated expenses like above-the-line marketing or technology cost as well as a check on the hiring trajectory without impacting collections are some options available to us," he said.

The top executive noted that the company managed to increase its operational efficiency, despite expanding its collections team.

"We have invested in our collections business, just to make sure that our credit costs remain within our predictable trajectory, as well as overall we have made sure that opex remains in control so that we can come within the guidance of 7% block of credit cost plus opex," he noted.

Roy said that the company's challenges in Q2 were less due to customer leverage issues and more because of other factors.

"Environmental impacts like the once in 60 years flood situation in North and South Bihar as well as some other states. Some other temporal disturbances were brought about by the stoppage of the social benefits for a couple of months on the backdrop of the general elections," he added.

However, L&T Finance managed to navigate through these challenges effectively, according to Roy.

"Though there has been a 13 basis points deterioration from June to September, in terms of collections efficiencies, we came in at about 99.4% in September 2024," he said.

Shares of L&T Finance Ltd. traded 3.98% lower at Rs 160 apiece on the NSE around 3 p.m. on Monday, compared to a 0.17% drop in the benchmark Nifty.