Bajaj Finance Share Price Spikes As NII Drives Q3 Profit Growth

Shares of Bajaj Finance Ltd. jumped over 6% on Thursday, after the company's announcement of robust third-quarter results. The strong performance was led by a 17% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit, which met analysts' estimates and boosted investor sentiment.

The non-banking financial company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 4,246 crore, up from Rs 3,639 crore in the same quarter last year. This growth was in line with analysts' expectations, who had forecast a profit of Rs 4,200 crore, according to Bloomberg data.

A key driver of the profit growth was the significant 23% increase in net interest income, which rose to Rs 9,382 crore, compared to Rs 7,655 crore in the previous year.

As of December 2024, Bajaj Finance's assets under management surged by 28% to Rs 3.98 lakh crore, up from Rs 3.1 lakh crore in the same period last year.

However, the positive results were somewhat tempered by an increase in provisions, which rose by 64% to Rs 2,043 crore from Rs 1,248 crore in the previous year. The company's gross non-performing assets stood at 1.12%, up from 1.06% in the previous quarter, while net NPA increased slightly to 0.48% from 0.46%.

Share price of Bajaj Finance rose as much as 6.33% to Rs 8,250 apiece. It pared gains to trade 4.23% higher at Rs 8,087 apiece, as of 09:53 a.m. This compares to a 0.25% advance in the NSE Nifty 50.

The stock has risen 17.95% in the last 12 months. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 18 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 71.

Out of 37 analysts tracking the company, 27 maintain a 'buy' rating, five recommend a 'hold' and five suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month analysts' consensus price target implies an upside of 2.9%.