Piramal Enterprises (PEL) has posted a surprising net loss of ₹196 crore on a consolidated basis for the fourth quarter ended March, eroded by a mark-to-market loss due to investments in the Shriram Group. In comparison, the company had posted a net profit of ₹151 crore for the same quarter of the previous financial year.
During the quarter under review, the company’s revenue from operations fell 9.16% to ₹2,131.71 crore from ₹2,346.78 crore recorded during the same period of last financial year.
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PEL’s net profit was impacted due to a mark-to-market loss of ₹375 crore in Shriram Group, a financial conglomerate, in which the company has equity investments, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance (PCHFL) MD Jairam Sridharan said.
PCHFL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PEL.
A consensus estimate of Bloomberg analysts was expecting the firm to post a consolidated net profit of ₹275 crore, on revenues of ₹1,368 crore. PEL’s board recommended a ₹31 per share dividend, with a total dividend pay-out of ₹740 crore.
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“In retail, we have achieved a substantial growth and this business now contributes to 50% of our assets under management. We are consciously pivoting to a technology-led multi-product strategy to continue building a large diversified NBFC. As we continue to expand our retail lending business, we are also investing in manpower, branch infrastructure, technology and analytics for its future growth,” PEL Chairman Ajay Piramal said.
The company’s total AUM stood at ₹63,989 crore, while retail lending grew to 50% of AUM, from 33% in FY22.