Summary of earnings call for Manupuram Finance for Q2 FY25. Note that this is AI-generated summary of the actual recording.

• Manupuram Finance reported strong consolidated AUM growth of 17.4% YoY and 1.7% QoQ. Consolidated profit after tax was 572.1 crores, up 2.8% QoQ and 2% YoY.
• The gold loan business saw a growth of 3% QoQ and 17.1% YoY, making up 53% of the total AUM. The company added over 4 lakh new customers during the quarter, and online gold loans accounted for 74% of the total gold loan book [2].
• The microfinance subsidiary, Asirvad Microfinance (Asirvad), faced regulatory action from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Asirvad was ordered to stop disbursing new loans from October 22nd, 2024, due to concerns about pricing policy, income assessment of borrowers, and gold purity discrepancies [1, 3].
• Manupuram has taken steps to address the RBI’s concerns at Asirvad, including reducing interest rates and improving income assessment processes. The company submitted a compliance plan to the RBI and expects the lending ban to be lifted in 3-4 months [1, 3-5].
• Asirvad’s AUM declined by 1.3% QoQ but grew 11% YoY, impacted by the lending ban. The company is focusing on collections and expects to maintain a healthy collection efficiency [2, 6].
• The RBI issued a circular on September 30th, 2024, aiming to standardize gold loan practices across lenders. The circular addresses concerns regarding loan-to-value (LTV) monitoring, loan renewals, and the use of gold loans. Manupuram is working to comply with the new guidelines by the December deadline [1, 7].
• The management expects the gold loan business to grow by 10-15% annually despite the new regulations. They believe the regulations will create a level playing field, benefiting organized players like Manupuram [8, 9].
• The vehicle finance business recorded strong growth, with an AUM increase of 6.8% QoQ and 54% YoY. The home loan business also grew, with an AUM increase of 6.6% QoQ and 29.6% YoY [2].
• The company maintained a strong capital position, with a CRAR of 29.22%. It declared an interim dividend of 1 rupee per share for the quarter [2].

The regulatory actions on its microfinance subsidiary will likely impact growth in the near term, but the company seems to have taken proactive measures to address the issues and management expects a recovery in the medium to long term.

About 80k CR of thermal power projects sanctioned this evening by NTPC.

KECL worked with NTPC several times in the past on thermal projects. Walchandnagar too.

I am hopeful this will be positive for KECL.