HUDCO reported a 4% rise in Q4 profit, aiming for a 25% loan book growth in FY26. The company plans to borrow Rs 65,000 crore and explore overseas bond sales.
Its total income rose to Rs 2,854.91 crore in January-March 2024-25 from Rs 2,194.04 crore in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing.
For the fiscal year 2024-25, HUDCO’s net profit increased to Rs 2,709.14 crore from Rs 2,116.69 crore in the preceding year.
The company’s chairman and managing director Sanjay Kulshrestha said the company is targeting a 25 per cent growth in the book in the new fiscal, and increasing its borrowing plan to Rs 65,000 crore.
The company has achieved a 35 per cent loan growth in FY25, and ended the fiscal with a borrowing of Rs 55,000 crore.
The CMD said it will maintain the proportion of overseas borrowings at the current level of around a fifth of the overall borrowings, but added that there may be some tweaks on the instruments front.
It is exploring to raise some money from bond sales in the overseas market as well, and Japan will be the preferred market to issue the paper, he said, adding that till now it has been preferring overseas loans as against bonds.
A senior official explained that bonds come with fixed coupons as against variable rates of interest for loans due to which the company wants to explore the new route.
It is also in the process of tying up another USD 500 million-equivalent loan in Japanese Yen and is targeting to finish the transaction by September, he said.
The senior official said it is targeting to raise up to Rs 1,000 crore of funds from the 54EC route, which will be a debut for the company under the instrument which enjoys capitals tax exemption. It pays 5.45 per cent for the money which is much lower than the weighted cost of funds of 6.75 per cent and comes with a 5-year lock in as well.
It is also targeting to issue a zero-coupon bond next month, the CMD said, without giving guidance on the pricing or the quantum to be raised.
Kulshrestha said the overall focus in FY26 will be to reduce the cost of borrowings by managing the instruments, and added that net interest margins will be maintained at a 3.3-3.4 per cent level.
On Tuesday, HUDCO said it plans to raise up to Rs 2,190 crore through the issue of debentures.
The company aims to take the net non-performing assets to zero in the next 18 months, the CMD said, adding that there have been no new slippages in FY25 and it is actively resolving the cases of legacy stressed assets through the bankruptcy courts and one-time settlements.
HUDCO shares closed 1.65 per cent down at Rs 214.30 apiece on the BSE, as against gains of 0.13 per cent on the benchmark on Wednesday.
