India’s PNB Housing Finance posts higher Q3 profit on strong home loan demand #IndiaFinance

(Reuters) – India’s PNB Housing Finance reported a 43% jump in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by strong demand for home loans.

The housing financier reported consolidated net profit of 4.83 billion rupees($55.8 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to 3.38 billion rupees a year ago.

Demand for homes in India, especially premium residences, has remained strong over the last few quarters. Analysts said the affordable segment is also seeing a pick up, aided by the government’s push for low-cost housing.

Additionally, home prices in India are set to rise steadily over the next few years, driven by demand for luxury properties from cash-rich individuals, according to a Reuters poll of housing experts.

PNB Housing’s retail loan disbursements jumped 31%, boosting the total disbursements by 30% to 53.80 billion rupees.

The company has expanded its focus on affordable housing in the last few quarters to increase its profitability, as the segment can command higher interest rates due to lower competition from big banks.

Disbursements in the affordable housing segment rose 127% year-on-year, while the premium segment, which accounts for around 60% of total disbursements, rose 15%.

The company’s net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid, rose 17% to 6.96 billion rupees, while gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans improved to 1.19% from 1.73%.

($1 = 86.5740 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)