For the full year ended March 31, 2017, Sundaram Finance has reported a net profit of Rs. 495 crores. Net profit for the year ended March 31, 2016 stood at Rs. 477 crores. However, profit for the year ended March 31, 2017 is not comparable with that of the previous year, which included a one-time profit of Rs. 40.64 crores arising from the sale of equity shares in BNP Paribas Sundaram Global Securities Operations Private Ltd. Net Profit from continuing operations registered a growth of 11.54 per cent over the previous year.
Disbursements for the year ended March 31, 2017 registered a growth of 15 per cent at Rs. 13,196 crores as against Rs. 11,444 crores in the previous year.
Commenting on the performance, Mr. TT Srinivasaraghavan, MD, Sundaram Finance Ltd., said: “We have achieved a healthy growth in both top and bottom line, notwithstanding the difficult market conditions, impacted as they were by weak replacement buying, uncertainty surrounding the implementation of BS-IV emission norms and demonetisation. We were able to achieve this thanks to an across-the-board growth in LCVs, passenger cars and utility vehicles, construction equipment and tractors.”
On the outlook for the year, Mr. Srinivasaraghavan said: “The momentum of economic reforms is expected to continue and it is hoped that the various proposals outlined in the Union Budget 2017, especially relating to road construction activities and the rural sector, will have a salutary impact on the automotive sector. With diesel prices expected to remain stable, the outlook for the automotive sector appears moderately optimistic. The encouraging forecasts of another normal monsoon obviously augur well for the economy as a whole. With construction equipment, tractors and farm equipment projected to register strong growth, we are hopeful of increasing our presence in these segments.”