Why did the profits of L&T Finance Holdings fall so sharply in the Dec-20 quarter?

L&T Finance, the arm of L&T group also announced its quarterly results for Dec-20 quarter on 15 Jan. Here are the highlights and why profits fell sharply.

· L&T Finance reported 3.04% fall in revenues for Dec-20 quarter at Rs.3622 crore even as interest income continued to contribute 90% of the total revenue mix of L&T Finance.

· Although Fees and Commissions account for only 10%, the number has been much higher in absolute terms in the latest quarter.

· Operating profits were down 52% at Rs.349 crore and that largely on account of a sharp spike in impairment of investment value during the quarter.

· PAT for Dec-20 quarter was also down 51% at Rs.288 crore as the operating effect got transmitted to net profits.

· OPM fell from 19.41% to 9.63% in Dec-20 quarter while PAT margins fell from 15.83% to 7.94% in the same period.

· As stated earlier, the impairment on financial instruments nearly doubled to Rs.926 crore in the Dec-20 quarter hitting profits.

· In the lending portfolio, largest share was of rural finance followed by infrastructure funding and housing finance. Cost of borrowing fell by 50 bps to 7.82% in Dec-20 Q3.