Bajaj Finance Q3 Results: NII up 21%, beats estimates; profit impacted by higher provisions

Bajaj Finance reported a mixed performance for the December quarter, with profit falling short of Street expectations despite strong growth in core lending metrics and stable asset quality.

Net profit for Q3 FY26 stood at ₹4,066 crore, below the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹5,201 crore and down 5.6% year-on-year from ₹4,308 crore.

Net interest income, however, rose 20.6% year-on-year to ₹11,318 crore, broadly in line with estimates, driven by sustained expansion in the loan book.

During the quarter, the company strengthened its provisioning framework by introducing a minimum loss-given-default (LGD) floor across businesses, resulting in an accelerated expected credit loss provision of ₹1,406 crore.

It also booked a one-time exceptional charge of ₹265 crore towards higher gratuity liabilities following the implementation of new labour codes.

Loan growth remained healthy, with 1.39 crore new loans booked in Q3, up 15% year-on-year. The customer franchise expanded 19% YoY to 11.54 crore, with 47.6 lakh customers added during the quarter. Assets under management stood at ₹4.84 lakh crore as of December 31, growing 22% YoY before the accelerated ECL adjustment.

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Asset quality remained stable, with gross NPAs at 1.21% and net NPAs at 0.47%. The capital adequacy ratio stood at a comfortable 21.45%, with Tier-I capital at 20.60%.

Shares of Bajaj Finance had closed 6.68% higher at ₹964.75 on the NSE ahead of the earnings announcement.

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