Indian lender Bajaj Finance reported a 29% profit rise for the quarter ended Sept. 30, putting its proposed ₹17,500 crore capital raise in focus as brokers differed over shareholder returns.
Consolidated profit after tax before minority interest reached ₹6,367 crore, up from ₹4,948 crore a year earlier, the company said in an exchange filing. Assets under management grew 26% to ₹584,624 crore, while net interest income rose 24% to ₹13,335 crore.
Bajaj Finance booked 13.45 million new loans, an 11% increase from a year earlier. The company cautioned that last year’s festival season began earlier, making the comparison uneven.
The board approved the capital proposal Oct. 1, subject to shareholder approval. It calls for a qualified institutions placement of up to ₹11,700 crore and convertible warrants worth up to ₹5,800 crore for promoter Bajaj Finserv Limited. Bajaj Finance cited growth and resilience as reasons for the plan.
NDTV Profit and ET Now reported that Nuvama Institutional Equities maintained a Buy rating and ₹1,175 price target, while Emkay Global Financial Services kept a Reduce rating and a ₹1,050 target for September 2027. The outlets also reported Emkay’s expectation that the capital raise would lower return on equity during fiscal 2027 to 2029. NDTV Profit separately reported that 360 ONE Capital upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy while retaining its ₹1,150 target.
Credit measures were mixed. The annualized loan-loss ratio fell to 1.56% from 1.88% a year earlier, but reported loan losses and provisions rose to ₹2,166 crore from ₹2,080 crore. The latest total includes a ₹337 crore management and macroeconomic provision; excluding it, Bajaj Finance calculated ₹1,829 crore, down 12%.
The company linked much of the quarterly rise in Stage 2 and 3 assets to short-tenor gold-loan schemes it has discontinued. Those assets reached 2.02% of loans, up from 1.87% in the previous quarter. Excluding the temporary gold-loan movement, Bajaj Finance put the ratio at 1.88%, compared with 1.90% a quarter earlier. The lender has also outlined a plan to reduce risk in new lending.
For fiscal 2027, Bajaj Finance expects to book 60 million to 62 million new loans and add 18 million to 20 million customers. Indian equity markets are closed Oct. 20 for Dussehra. The next trading session will be the first since the Oct. 19 results, although the capital proposal has been public since Oct. 1.
