Manappuram Finance shares fall after NBFC reports Q3 results; what’s troubling investors?

Manappuram Finance shares fell on Thursday, halting a two-day winning streak, after the private-sector non-banking financial company (NBFC) reported its financial results for the October-December period. The stock of Kerala-headquartered Manappuram Finance weakened by as much as Rs 8.8, or 4.6 per cent, to Rs 181.5 apiece on BSE.

At 2:42 PM, the company's shares were down 2.9 per cent at Rs 184.6 apiece on the bourse. The stock eventually settled at Rs 182.70 each, down 3.94 per cent on the BSE.

Manappuram Finance Q3 results

After market hours on Wednesday, Manappuram Finance posted a largely positive set of earnings for the fiscal third quarter except an increase in non-performing assets as well as provisions.

The NBFC’s consolidated net profit increased 46.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 572.9 crore and net interest income (NII) grew 32.9 per cent to Rs 1,452.4 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

Manappuram's consolidated assets under management (AUM) for the three-month period came in at Rs 40,385 crore, up 27 per cent compared with the year-ago period.

Zee Business analysts had estimated the NBFC’s quarterly net profit at Rs 565 crore and NII at Rs 1,400 crore, with AUM growth to the tune of 25-26 per cent.

However, the financier’s asset quality worsened, as its gross non-performing assets (NPAs) increased to 1.99 per cent of total loans for the October-December period from 1.56 per cent three months ago, and net non-performing assets rose to 1.75 per cent  from 1.35 per cent.

The company’s provisions increased 2.9 times on a year-on-year basis to Rs 149.6 crore for the December quarter.

What brokerages say about Manappuram Finance's stock

Morgan Stanley maintained an ‘overweight’ rating on Manappuram Finance after the NBFC’s earnings announcement, and raised its target for the stock by Rs 25 to Rs 235.

CLSA maintained a ‘buy’ call on Manappuram and raised its target to Rs 230 from Rs 185.