Buy view on mannapurram finance

Manappuram Finance Ltd. (MGFL) is a prominent non-banking financial company (NBFC) in India, particularly known for its gold loan services. However, it has also diversified into other areas such as housing loans, vehicle loans, and microfinance. The company has a wide branch network with around 5,000 branches across the country.In terms of assets under management (AUM), there has been a significant growth of 27% year-on-year, reaching Rs. 40,385 crore. This growth is attributed to both the gold loan segment, with an AUM of Rs. 20,758 crore (12% YoY increase), and the non-gold segment, which reached Rs. 19,627 crore (48% YoY increase).In the third quarter of FY24, the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs. 575 crore, showing a remarkable growth of 46% year-on-year, mainly due to the profitability in the gold loan business. Net interest income (NII) for the quarter also saw significant growth of 33% year-on-year, supported by a 50 basis points improvement in gold yield, resulting in higher yields from the gold book.However, there have been challenges such as increased risk weights on bank lending to NBFCs, leading to a rise in borrowing costs. Despite this, the Net Interest Margin (NIM) improved by 37 basis points to 16.7%.
Looking ahead, in anticipation of the short-term impact of rising borrowing and credit costs, it is expected that the company will address these challenges by expanding its AUM mix, particularly in the non-gold segment, and enhancing asset quality. Hence, a target price of Rs. 215 has been set, based on a 1.12 times adjusted Book Value per Share (BVPS) estimate for FY26.