Q4 disbursements up 73% at Rs. 794 crores

Chennai headquartered Sundaram Home Finance, the wholly owned home finance subsidiary of Sundaram Finance Ltd. has registered a 45% rise in its net profit for the Q4 ended 31st March 2022 at Rs. 53.05 crores as compared to Rs. 36.60 crores registered in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Disbursements for Q4 ended 31st March 2022 went up 73% to Rs. 794.11 crores as compared to Rs. 459.38 crores in the same period the previous year.

Record disbursements in March

The company registered a record disbursement of over Rs. 300 crores in March 2022, the highest in its history. In order to support its expansions plans, Sundaram Home Finance hired around 100 frontline staff last year primarily in Tier 2 and 3 towns.

Commenting on the results, D. Lakshminarayanan, MD, Sundaram Home Finance, said: “The record disbursements in March this year is a clear sign of the resilience in the real estate sector. We have seen an uptick in business in Tier 2 and 3 towns in the Southern Market, with the contribution from these geographies going up to around 70% at the end of Q4 from about 55% a year earlier.”

Geographic expansion

The company will continue to strengthen its presence in the Southern market and is planning to open 10 branches in Tier 2 and 3 towns in Tamil Nadu, North Karnataka and AP / Telengana. The company will also add another 100 front end Sales personnel in these locations as part of its expansion this year.

Lending rates continue to be attractive

“While the lending rates have remained at an unprecedented low in the last couple of years, we expect this to go up a few notches this year. Earlier this month, we saw the first rate hike in over 2 years. Despite the hike, the rates continue to be at attractive levels for the retail customer”, said Lakshminarayanan.

Bullish on outlook

On the outlook for the year, Lakshminarayanan said: “We continue to remain bullish on the long term prospects of the sector.  Sundaram Home Finance has established a strong presence in the South market. We believe that there is still a lot of untapped potential in these geographies and are confident of leveraging our brand, strong customer focus and the domain knowledge to grow in these markets especially in the Tier 2 and 3 locations.”

On the growth segment for the company, Lakshminarayanan said: “We have held the view that affordable housing will remain one of the fastest growing segments in the real estate sector. We will further strengthen our presence in this segment and are confident of tapping into the opportunities in this space this year.”

Sundaram Home Finance is a leading player in the housing finance sector in India offering home loans, plot loans, home improvement & extension loans and loans against property. The company has 105 branches across the country.