Indian mortgage lender PNB Housing Finance posted a nearly 48% rise in first-quarter profit on Monday, helped by strong demand for home loans and improved asset quality.
PNB Housing, a unit of state lender Punjab National Bank, said its consolidated net profit after tax totaled 3.47 billion rupees ($42.4 million) for the quarter ended June 30, up from 2.35 billion rupees a year earlier.
Net interest margin, the main measure of profitability, stood at 3.86%, while net interest income rose 70% to Rs 6.29 billion in the quarter.
India’s housing demand has continued to increase post-pandemic as a growing middle class seeks to invest in real estate, even as lending rates are higher.
The Reserve Bank of India has raised its main interest rate by 250 basis points since May 2022, snapping hikes in April and June.
New Delhi-based PNB Housing Finance said asset quality improved in the quarter, with gross non-performing assets as a percentage of total loans falling from 3.83% on March 31 to 3.76% on June 30.
Disbursements for the quarter increased by 7% year-on-year to Rs 36.86 billion.
The lender’s shares rose 3.8% to 675 rupees after the result.
($1 = 81.8750 Indian rupees)
