Aadhar Housing Finance To Focus On Deeper Impact In Existing Territories, Says CEO Rishi Anand

Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd. will prioritise a strategy of achieving a deeper impact within existing regions, rather than expanding into new states, according to Rishi Anand, chief executive officer and managing director of the company.

The focus will now be on creating a deeper impact with a target of adding 75 branches YoY to its existing network, he told NDTV Profit. The company reported a spread of 6% in the first quarter of FY25.

The housing financing major added Himachal Pradesh to its network in the first quarter, taking its presence to 21 states across the country.

"The moment you start going deeper, the intensity of competition goes down. The endeavour is to maintain a perfect balance between tier-1, tier-2 and the rest of the country. We found an opportunity in Himachal and launched one branch. We will definitely look at opening more branches in Himachal, but I don't think we have any more states to expand," he said.

The company has identified five states—Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh—where it has already started working on a deep penetration strategy.

"When we say deep, we are not referring to rural locations, we are referring to smaller talukas and smaller districts. We already have 150 such branches and as we move ahead 75 new branches YoY. This will be a combination of 20 branches in tier-1 and tier-2 cities and balance branches in a deeper impact strategy," Anand said.

The company reported a 21% growth in its assets under management at around Rs 21,000 crore in first quarter. Anand is confident of maintaining this growth trajectory in the remaining year with a focus on its core competence to cater to the EWS and LIF segments.

"We stand by the guidance we are giving, AUM growth of 22-23% and disbursement growth of 18-20%. Things look good, things look bullish," he said.

Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd. reported revenue of Rs 713 crore in June 2024 quarter, up 20% from Rs 593 crore in Q1 FY24. The interest income was 22% to Rs 436 crore in Q1, against Rs 358 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Net profit was up 37% to Rs 200 crore from Rs 146 crore in the year-ago period.

Shares of Aadhar Housing Finance closed 1.92% higher at Rs 426.5 apiece on NSE on Friday.