Spandana Sphoorty Shares Hit Lower Circuit On Q3 Loss; Down 70% In A Year

Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltd.'s shares hit their lower circuit on Friday after the company reported a loss for the quarter ending December. The microfinance firm reported a net loss of Rs 394 crore in comparison to the profit of Rs 118 crore reported in the same period last year.

In addition, the company's write-offs exceeded gross non-performing assets figure of the September quarter. The write-offs during the quarter stood at Rs 678 crore, higher than the gross NPA figure of Rs 400 crore in the quarter under review and Rs 477 crore gross NPA in Q2.

The total income was also down 14.9% to Rs 529 crore in comparison to Rs 622 crore in the same period last year. The total asset under management was down 14% to Rs 8,936 crore against Rs 10,404 crore reported in the same quarter last year.

Spandana Sphoorty's asset quality was stable during the quarter under review, with the gross non-performing assets ratio declining slightly to 4.85% from 4.86% in the September quarter. The net NPA ratio contracted 30 basis points to 0.96% from 0.99% in the preceding quarter.

Provisions rose 851% from last year to Rs 607.2 crore. While the disbursals for the quarter fell 43% to Rs 1,443 crore from Rs 2,542 crore in same period last year. Net intertest income for the quarter stood at Rs 572 crore, 14% lower from Rs 309 crore reported in the December quarter of previous fiscal.

Spandana Sphoorty Shares Hit Lower Circuit

The shares of Spandana Sphoorty fell as much as 5% to Rs 324 apiece, the lowest level since Dec. 31. This compares to a 0.08% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has fallen 69.81% in the last 12 months. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 0.2 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 41.

Out of nine analysts tracking the company, five maintain a 'buy' rating and four recommend a 'hold,' according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 46.4%.